Stephanie Universe
by FLASHFAN123
Summary: As Stephanie Universe gets older, she continues to learn how to protect humanity with the help of Onyx, Quartz, and Carnelian. These are the Rebel Gems! Steven Universe belongs to Rebecca Sugar. This is a Rule 63 type AU. Rated PG-13 for the use of derogatory slang in later chapters and infamous organizations from history. R&R and enjoy! {[(DISCONTINUED)]}
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys! Don't worry, I'm still doing my Transformers story, but this will be a little side-project. Don't read this if you haven't seen Steven Universe, unless you want to anyway, I'm cool with whatever. Original characters and TV show belong to Rebecca Sugar. I'm just following Rule 63.**

* * *

 _ **We…**_

 _ **Are the Rebel Gems! We'll always pull on through!**_

 _ **And if you think we won't, we'll know just what to do!**_

 _ **That's why the people of this world have faith in…**_

 _ **Onyx**_

 _ **Carnelian**_

 _ **And Quartz**_

 _ **And Stephanie!**_

* * *

 **Chapter 1: Introductions**

A long time ago, on a distant world know as Homeworld, an advanced civilization existed. These were not organic beings, but sentient gemstones with the power to form bodies out of solid light. These gem-based life-forms required no food, sleep, or oxygen for sustenance, yet they had thoughts and emotions of their own. These life-forms followed under the rule of the Diamond Hierarchy, a ruthless and cruel regime with a burning desire for power. With the help of their generals, the armies of the House of Diamonds conquered many worlds, building makeshift laboratories, dubbed the Kindergartens, to both breed more gem warriors and terraform the planet to better resemble Homeworld. With this unconquerable army, the Diamond Hierarchy had no trouble in expanding their sinister reign. But everything changed when they found their way to the planet Earth.

Crimson Topaz, a seasoned general of the Homeworld Regime, scouted ahead of the army to study the planet for weaknesses, and instead, witnessed the beauty and potential in this organic planet. He was amazed by the dominant race of Earth, the technology they possessed, the religions they followed, the lives they lived, it was all beautiful to General Topaz. When the remaining army arrived, Crimson Topaz protested against using the planet for Homeworld to expand, but the Head of the Diamonds, Grey Diamond, brushed aside his concerns. As the Homeworld gems began to establish galaxy-warp pads and a Kindergarten, Crimson began to secretly share his viewpoint with many of the Homeworld gems. Eventually, Grey Diamond had had enough of Crimson Topaz's sympathy and ordered him to be executed.

But, Crimson was a well-respected and loved figure among the Homeworld army, and while much of the Regime followed Diamonds' orders out of fear, many of the gems turned against their masters to side with Topaz. And so began the Rebel Gems. The Rebel Gems aided many of the human armies of Earth to fight back against the Homeworld oppressors for years, with both humans and gems losing their lives, until they had succeeded in damaging the Kindergarten enough to render it inoperable. The Diamond Hierarchy decided to cut their losses and leave Earth, seemingly forever. But before they left, they created a super-weapon that would wipe out all gem-based life on Earth. In the end, Crimson Topaz was only able to save three of his closest friends; the mighty Onyx, the loyal Quartz, and the young Carnelian.

The four Rebel Gems looked around, finding nothing but death as far as the eye could see. The four brave rebels were now alone, with no hope of ever going home. Despite their loss, the four comrades rose from the ashes of defeat and created a massive temple as refuge. The Rebel Gems thought that they would be able to live in peace in their new home, but Homeworld's weapon had done more than wipe out the remaining rebel forces. An after-affect created some sort of chemical that took root in dispersed areas around the planet. This chemical had altered the gems that were shattered in the war, transforming them into mindless, deformed abominations. Crimson Topaz and his friends swore that they would find these creatures and contain them to prevent them from harming anyone.

That was almost three hundred years ago.

By the year 1989, the Rebel Gems had been through much. They had witnessed humans colonize foreign lands and achieve many technological advancements. In that time, the Rebel Gems fought alongside the humans of their geographical home with their own revolution, siding with General Washington, who shared their idea of freedom. A Civil War, where Onyx was proud to fight for those treated poorly due to the color of their skin. And two wars to end all wars, which came close to ending the planet they swore to protect. It was believed that the Gems would continue this cycle for centuries, but one day, Crimson fell in love.

Her name was Margaret Universe, a musician who traveled all over the country. She was a simple woman who only wanted to make something of herself. One day, she arrived in Beach City to perform a one-person concert, but no one showed up. Except for Crimson. He loved her music and sat through the entire show. Afterwards, Margaret was touched that someone actually enjoyed her music style and she sought out her first and only fan. As they spent more time together, Crimson and Margaret realized that they loved each other very much.

Eventually, the two lovers conceived in 1999, and would one day give birth to the only gem created without the use of a Kindergarten. But as they followed their regular check-ups, Crimson realized that Margaret's physiology was too different from his own for the baby to survive birth. In a desperate attempt to save his child's life, Crimson went to Onyx to ask for a solution. Onyx used a his special ability, known as future vision, to predict any way for Crimson to save the baby, but in the end, there was only one possible outcome that would have the desired result: Crimson would have to transfer his topaz gem to the child at the moment of its birth. The only problem with this was, Crimson would give up his physical form and be gone forever. But Crimson's love for Margaret overcame any fear he felt, which paved the way for him to feel pride that he would be able to live on through his child as she would join the Rebel Gems to continue their mission.

The Rebel Gems swore to uphold the mission of protecting Earth and all of its creatures as Crimson told them of his decision to give his life. When the time came, Crimson gave his love a final kiss good-bye and disappeared in a flash of light. Margaret walked to the Rebel Gems' temple where she introduced them to the first human-gem hybrid; Stephanie Topaz Universe. The Rebel Gems were disheartened at first, due to the loss of their closest friend, but they were overcome with joy and happiness as they saw the smile on Stephanie's face. When Stephanie's topaz showed signs of power for the first time, the Gems consulted with Margaret to raise Stephanie themselves, training her to take her father's place. While reluctant at first, Margaret finally agreed under two conditions: the gems would build a house next to the temple for Margaret and Stephanie to live, and they would not tell her about the Homeworld invasion until she was older.

* * *

The year is now 2015, and the Rebel Gems have trained Stephanie well thus far. Stephanie is sixteen now, and has inherited much from her father. She has red, curly hair that went down to her neck, yet she inherited her mother's eyes. The years of exercise the Rebels put her through had given her a strong and slender build, despite her love for candy and donuts. She would normally wear a red shirt with a yellow star on the chest to match her father's, and blue jeans with sandals. Her weapon, summoned from the crimson topaz gem in her navel, was her father's nigh-indestructible shield that could act as a projectile weapon. She had also gained a portion of Crimson's super-human strength, able to lift large objects with ease. She was also learning how to control her father's pack of magic tigers, four faithful scouts that protected Stephanie and her family. Yet she still had much to learn.

The young girl sat in her home as Quartz told her stories of Earth's history. Quartz resembled a man in his late twenties with white skin. He wore a light-blue, skin-tight body suit that ended at the neck, covered by a white tunic. Yet the most distracting feature was the quartz gemstone embedded in his forehead. Quartz acted as an over-protective older brother in Stephanie's life, making sure that her safety came above all else. Stephanie loved Quartz, but his behavior would annoy her to an extent. For example, Quartz often expressed his horror and disdain for eating food, marking it off as 'revolting.' Despite this, Quartz did try to adapt to life on Earth, and being with Stephanie and the others made doing so that much easier. Whenever Margaret was at work, Quartz would handle the task of homeschooling Stephanie. He taught her what most children learned at school, but he was also in charge of teaching her how to fight and defend herself with her weapon. However, today he was entertaining her with a story of her father.

"Your father was one of the best warriors in the entire Homeworld army." Quartz told Stephanie as she happily brushed the hair of her father's tigers. "No other soldier on Homeworld could match his battle prowess. Yet he had a heart of gold, and only used violence as a last resort. I understand you've become quite peaceful, _yourself_ … and he was a _good friend_ … which _reminds_ me." Quartz stood up and walked over to a chest in the corner of the room. His gem glowed as he held up his palm to unlock it. He went back to Stephanie, holding a red scabbard with a handle at the end. "Your father made me promise to give this to you when you were well-trained. And while that hasn't come quite _yet_ , I feel that you ought to at least _know_ what you have coming towards you. Your mother was _reluctant_ , worried that we'd take you on some damn, fool's crusade."

"What is it?" Stephanie was now on her feet, eyes-wide, as Quartz handed her the scabbard.

"Your father's sword. A straight-bladed saber that can only be unsheathed by the one who possesses its designated gemstone. It is the traditional weapon of all generals on Homeworld, to act as a secondary weapon."

Stephanie's gem glowed as she held the handle in her grip. The sword was the same color as her gem as she admired how the light glistened off of it. She slowly put the scabbard on the floor so she could hold it with both of her hands. Quartz smiled as Stephanie motioned the sword around through the air. "It is capable of cutting through almost _any_ material and firing a concentrated concussion blast. And in _my_ opinion, it is a much more suited choice for a much more _civilized_ era." Stephanie put the sword back in its scabbard and handed it to Quartz.

Suddenly, the front door burst open with a loud bang. "Dumb police! Uh, you're _dumb!_ " Before she knew it, Stephanie was soaked by the short, blue Rebel who resembled a young man in his early twenties. This gem wore baggy jeans with a lighter colored t-shirt that covered a blue gem in his chest. This gem was known as Carnelian, another brother-figure for Stephanie. When she was younger, Stephanie always preferred to take Carnelian with her to concerts, movies and other fun activities she enjoyed. But as Stephanie got older, Carnelian began to target Stephanie for his pranks. He also enjoyed eating food, despite not needing to, making him a bit of a glutton. He also enjoyed collecting random items and piling them up in his room. Still, Stephanie loved him like family, even if he _did_ get on her nerves. "HAHAHAHAHA! Oh, Stephanie! You shoulda seen your face! You were all like; 'Ah! I'm wet!' HAHAHAHA!"

"Oh, yeah?" Stephanie got up and walked over to the short gem as he continued to giggle while holding the water gun. "Well, _you_ were all like; 'Ah! Stop doing that, Stephanie!'"

"What?" Carnelian raised an eyebrow in confusion until Stephanie snatched the water gun out of his hand and proceeded to spray him. "Ah! Stop doing that, Stephanie!" Carnelian and Stephanie shared a sour look before they both laughed at their fun. Quartz, however, did not share their optimistic viewpoint, and buried his face in his palm out of annoyance.

In a flash of light, the warp-pad in the center of the room activated, revealing a dark silhouette. The light disappeared to reveal a seven-foot tall gem that resembled an African American in his early thirties. This gem wore a black, skin-tight suit with a white star on his chest, complete with a silver lining. The suit left his head and his hands uncovered, and he had a silver belt around his waist. His eyes were covered with mirrored sunglasses that were directly flush with his cube-shaped hair. Two grey containment bubbles hovered over the two onyx gemstones embedded in his palms. This was Onyx, the most mysterious and emotionally stable of Stephanie's guardians.

Onyx acted as a father figure for Stephanie as she was growing up. He was the one who listened to her opinions with an open mind, and actually took an interest in what she had to say. At times when Stephanie was scared or worried, Onyx would be the one to comfort her. Despite Quartz's excellent teachings, Onyx was the only one who could teach Stephanie hand-to-hand combat techniques, trying to find ways to make the lessons relate to her. Despite not needing to eat or sleep for sustenance, Onyx would occasionally do it to spend time with Stephanie. Onyx was also the only one of the remaining Rebel Gems who had taken the time to live among the humans and learn their customs. To this day, he still visited Harlem, Memphis, Montgomery, Ethiopia, Morocco, Mali, and Rwanda when he had nothing to do.

"Hi, Onyx!" Stephanie hugged the tall Rebel as he tapped his middle fingers on the bubbles, sending them into the containment center of the temple.

"Stephanie, you're all wet! You'll catch a cold!"

"Onyx, it's almost summer."

"Even _so_ …" Onyx placed his right palm on Stephanie's forehead, sending a small jolt through her body that instantly dried Stephanie's skin and clothes. Next, Onyx's right gem glowed slightly in front of Stephanie's eyes. "I can sense that you're still upset that Carnelian would do this, but you _must_ move past it and forgive him. Okay?"

"Okay…"

Stephanie's attention was brought to the sound of the front door opening. She turned to face a woman in her forties with long black hair, a tie dye shirt covered by a sleeveless vest, and blue jeans that met at her ankles. This woman was Stephanie's mother. Even before she met Crimson Topaz, Margaret Universe was seen as a hippie; always talking and singing about peace and love, attending environment preservation rallies, and she had even started her own organic produce shop in Beach City. She had her own room in the house near the temple so that she could help raise Stephanie. She hugged her daughter and held up a home-made handbag. "Hi, sweetie, I brought dinner."

"Hi, mom, how was your day at the shop?" Stephanie smiled at her mother as she began to help unpack the fruits and vegetables from the bag.

"Well, it wasn't a _completely_ bad day. Same amount of usual customers and sales." Margaret said as she chopped up the ingredients to make the salads. The other gems sat at the dinner table to accompany their friends. Onyx had only a small salad so that Stephanie and Margaret could have more. Carnelian, on the other hand, grabbed a bottle of mustard and sprayed it all over his salad, then shoved the entire bowl into his mouth. As Carnelian pulled the bowl out of his mouth, Quartz moved away from the table in disgust. As Stephanie finished her salad, she turned to Onyx with an eager expression.

"So, Onyx…" the tall gem looked at his little friend as she spoke. "Next time you go on a mission, will you take me with you?"

"Stephanie, you know that you have not yet completed your training. You're not ready."

"But, I've already learned how to summon my dad's shield! And I'm getting closer to having the tigers properly trained! And let's face it: there's _nothing_ that scares me! Nothing at- AAH!" Stephanie ducked under the table as the others heard a knock at the door. The Rebels and Margaret faced the screen door to see a young, dark-skinned boy with blue jeans and a white t-shirt. A smudge of grease was on his cheek underneath his glasses and his black hair was in a tangled mess. He put his arms behind his back as he waited, patiently, for someone to answer him. "Get _rid_ of him!"

Margaret went over to the door. "Can I help you, young man?"

"Um, hi, I was exercising near here earlier, and I think I forgot one of my boxing gloves. Have you seen it?"

"Is _that_ what this is?" Carnelian walked over to Margaret and held up a red boxing glove. "I tripped over it on my way home. I was gonna add it to my pile of junk."

"Thanks! I owe ya!" the boy grabbed the glove and walked back down the steps to the beach. Margaret and the gems went back to the table, where Stephanie breathed nervously.

"Who was that?" Quartz asked the sweating girl.

"Uh… he's just a boy I know. He doesn't know _me_ … we've never _met_ …" Stephanie reluctantly answered. Carnelian gasped and put his palms on Stephanie's cheeks.

"OH, MY GOD! You have a _crush_ on him!" Carnelian's comment made Stephanie blush brightly.

"W-what?! No! Shut up!"

"Yes, you _do!_ You _wuv_ him!" Carnelian put his hands together and made a kissy face.

Quartz was excited to think Stephanie had a crush. "Let's set up a _play date!_ I'll write out an invitation, we'll have to find out his favorite kind of activities-"

"No!" Stephanie finally cut in. "I do _not_ 'wuv' him. He moved into the city a month ago, and I've seen him help people and fix things and generally be the nicest boy I've ever met in my- YES, OKAY! I ADMIT IT! I LOVE HIM!"

"No, you don't." All eyes turned to Onyx who crossed his arms as he looked at Stephanie.

"Yes, I do! I fell in love with him the moment I saw him!"

"No, you _didn't!_ " Onyx put a hand on Stephanie's shoulder as he continued. "Love at first sight doesn't _exist_. Love takes time and understanding. Love requires _interaction_ and _cooperation_. I'm not saying you _won't_ be able to love him, but you need to _like_ him first. Go talk to him. Get open. Get _honest_. Invent yourself to this boy and let him do the same to you." Onyx tilted his sunglasses to casually wink at Stephanie. " _That's_ love."

Stephanie had never seen Onyx without his glasses before, which made it natural for her to be as shocked as she was. Onyx's left eye had a black iris with a white pupil, his right eye had a white iris with a black pupil, and, in the middle of his forehead, there was a third eye with a grey iris and a black pupil. "EYE-!" Stephanie moved back slightly out of shock, but smiled nervously and attempted to finish her sentence without offending her guardian. "-think I understand."

Onyx placed his glasses back on his face and smiled at Stephanie. Stephanie got up, went to her room and pulled a necklace out from her dresser. She went back to the dining room and proudly announced her plan to her family. "Okay, I'm going to go and talk to him! But you guys can't watch! It'll mess up my funky flow!"

"Funky flow?" Margaret, Quartz, and Carnelian questioned in unison.

"We won't watch." Onyx promised.

"Okay…" Stephanie reassured herself as she walked out the door and headed towards the boy. "Let's _do_ this!"

* * *

 **Next: Bubble Buddies!**

 **No, Onyx did not brainwash Stephanie. It is a special power he has that will be explained later on.**


	2. Bubble Buddies

**Chapter 2: Bubble Buddies!**

* * *

Stephanie walked from her house down to the beach. She had just been convinced by her guardians to go and talk to a boy who was new in town and try to make a friend. She had been observing this boy for a month, witnessing him help others whenever he could. As she got closer to the boy, she put the necklace she grabbed from her dresser in her pocket and rehearsed how she was going to introduce herself.

"Hi, my name is Stephanie. _Hi_ , my name is Stephanie. Hi, my name is _Stephanie_." Suddenly, the ground shook causing a boulder on the hill of the temple to fall in the direction of the boy. Without hesitating, Stephanie ran over to him and jumped on top of him. "HI, MY NAME IS STEPHANIE!" Once Stephanie and the boy were on the ground, her topaz gem glowed brightly and a red, transparent bubble surrounded the two of them. The boulder landed on top of the bubble and shattered into pieces. Stephanie got up and reached to help the boy.

"Hi, _my name_ is Stephanie." Stephanie's breathing calmed down as the boy got up to meet her face-to-face.

"Ronald Markson. But my friends call me Ronnie. Well, they would if I _had_ friends. I just moved here." Once he caught his breathe, Ronnie looked at the transparent bubble surrounding them. "How did this happen?"

"Oh, I think I did it." Stephanie rubbed the back of her head. "I'm magic. Well, _half_ -magic, on my dad's side."

"Magic?"

"Yeah! Me and the other Rebel Gems have theses gemstones in our bodies…" Stephanie slightly lifted her shirt to show Ronnie the topaz gem in her navel. "And they can summon specific weapons for us!"

"And this bubble is _your_ weapon?" Ronnie asked as he looked in amazement at the transparent orb surrounding them.

"No, this is _new_. Just hold on." Stephanie tensed every muscle in her body, trying to get the orb to retract back into her gem. But her efforts were in vain. "Um, it doesn't seem to want to go away."

"What?!" Ronnie looked at his wristwatch. "I need to be home in less than an _hour!_ "

"Don't worry, it's okay! The others'll know what to do!" Stephanie began to push the bubble to move it to the temple, with Ronnie helping her along.

"So, who are these 'Rebel Gems' you were talking about?"

"Well, there's Quartz," Stephanie began to tell Ronnie about her guardians. "He's kinda like my big brother. He helps my mom home school me about stuff I need to know. He's really smart and nice, but he can be a bit overprotective."

"Well, if makes you feel any better," Ronnie sighed, "my mom can be kind of overprotective, too."

"Well, he's also _really_ cool in a fight! He has this sort of staff that he uses to beat bad guys with."

"You guys _fight_ people?" Ronnie seemed a bit unnerved.

"Oh, no. No. They told me that they're not _people_. The ones they fight used to be like _them_ , but then they had this weird chemical affect them, so now they're more like mindless monsters. The best we can do is poof their bodies and keep their gems safe. It's what we do to protect humanity."

"Huh, that's kinda what my Grandpa used to do before he retired. He was a cop. Do you have any other friends who're like Quartz?"

"Well, there's Carnelian. He helps protect the earth, too, but he's pretty much the exact _opposite_ of Quartz. He's always pulling these stupid pranks on me and can generally be a real pain. He's pretty scrappy in a fight, too. He uses this kind of wrecking-ball thingy with spikes."

"A flail?" Ronnie lifted an eyebrow.

"Yeah! And, Onyx, he sorta took over as my dad when my real dad died."

"Oh, I'm sorry…" Ronnie apologized.

"It's okay. He's really strong and he makes me feel better when I'm sad. He has these swords and when he fights with them, it looks _so awesome!_ He says they're called… uh… flee… fleece… fleece-uh-"

"Oh, you mean _flyssa_ swords?"

"Yeah! How do you know so much about weapons?"

"Well, I don't have many friends so I spend a lot of time reading about different things."

Before they could notice, the bubble began to roll downhill, preventing the two teenagers from reaching the door to the temple. They pushed as hard as they could, but their efforts were to no avail. Stephanie resorted to yelling for help, but there was no answer.

"Oh, that's _right_ …" she moaned, "I told them not to watch." Ronnie began to look worried again, so Stephanie tried to think of another plan. "It's okay, we'll think of something else…"

"Maybe we can burn our way out." Ronnie spoke up.

"How're we supposed to do that?"

"My dad's auto-repair shop has some welding equipment," Ronnie explained as he motioned towards the city. "We could ask one of the employees there to help."

"Okay, let's go for it!" the two kids began to roll themselves through the city as Stephanie remembered what Onyx had told her about interaction. "So, your dad _owns_ this repair shop?"

"Yeah," Ronnie smiled slightly. "He's teaching me everything he knows so that by the time I'm eighteen, I'll be able to take any car apart and put it back together. When _that_ time comes, the shop will be _mine_."

"That is so cool!" Stephanie had stars in her eyes from excitement. "I hope that if I ever have car trouble in the future, I can count on you for help."

"Of course, I help anyone who needs it."

"That's really _cool._ Your _dad_ sounds really cool."

"Yeah, I owe him a lot. If it wasn't for him, my mom never would've let me take boxing lessons. I started before we moved here, but it was too brief for me to make any friends." Ronnie slightly hung his head, much to the sorrow of Stephanie.

"I'm sorry, you can make plenty of friends in this city. There're a lot of cool people! I know this place at the boardwalk that sells the _best_ donuts! I can show it to you sometime."

"Thanks, but my parents don't let me eat donuts. They have trans-fats."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?" Stephanie could hardly believe what she had heard, before she could reply, they reached the auto-repair shop where they saw a tall African American man working on a car in the garage. They tried to get his attention, but the bubble was struck by a car, sending them rolling down the street. The bubble bounced up and down until a stationary trailer bed acted as a ramp to send them flying in the air. The two teenagers screamed as they began to descend back to the ground. But to their shock, they landed in the ocean. The bubble sank down, getting close to a sunken Navy patrol boat.

When they finally reached the bottom, Stephanie helped Ronnie up. At this point, Ronnie was hyperventilating from all of the excitement.

"Hey, it's okay!" Stephanie tried to calm him down as she lifted up her hands. "We just need to try to roll to the shore." Suddenly, another tremor, similar to the one that caused their predicament, shook the ground around them until a sinkhole appeared only a few yards in front of them. A large, insect-like creature crawled out of the hole and began to chew off bits of the patrol boat.

"What is that?!" Ronnie's pupils shrank as he tripped over himself. Stephanie helped him back up and tried to explain.

"That's what the Gems call a 'centepeedle,' it eats metal." The centepeedle looked at the two teenagers in the bubble and released an earsplitting roar. The shockwaves caused the ocean floor beneath the two to crack, and they fell into a chasm. Ronnie was even more scared as he wondered if they'd ever get out.

"Hey, it's okay, we can-" Stephanie tried to calm Ronnie down, but he just turned to her in anguish.

"IT'S _NOT_ OKAY!" Stephanie stepped back a little out of fear of his tone. "You keep _saying_ that, but it's not true! Do you even have any _idea_ of how much trouble we're in?! We could _die!_ " Stephanie noticed tears welling up in the boy's eyes as he slumped down in sadness. "I'm going to _die_ without ever having made a _single_ friend."

Stephanie knelt down, pulled the chain necklace out of her pocket and put a hand on Ronnie's shoulder to get his attention. " _We_ can be friends." Ronnie stopped crying once he saw the chain-necklace with a cross pendant. He held it in his hands and studied it over and over, as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"This is the necklace my _Grandpa_ gave me! I've been looking for it for _weeks!_ How'd you… how…?"

"I saw you last month," Stephanie explained. "At the Beach City parade. It was the first time I ever saw you. I noticed some people bumped into you and the chain broke. I tried to find you so that I could return it, but you were already gone. I took it home and fixed the chain so it wouldn't break again."

"Oh, _yeah!_ I remember you now! You were the girl on the van for 'Universe's Organic Produce.'" Ronnie chuckled as the fond memory sank in. "You had green dye in your hair that matched your dress."

Stephanie chuckled as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I-I was supposed to be a broccoli stalk." Stephanie and Ronnie looked at each other and laughed as they remembered that day, but Stephanie felt a wave of guilt flood her soul as she helped Ronnie back onto his feet. "I'm sorry I ruined your day. This isn't how I wanted our first meeting to go down."

"No, no, it's okay," Ronnie said reassuringly as he wiped the tears from his eyes. "I'm glad we met." Stephanie smiled as the boy's comment warmed her heart. Without warning, the bubble disappeared and the two teenagers clamped their hands over their mouths. Stephanie motioned to Ronnie to follow her up towards the surface. When they finally reached the beach, Ronnie laughed at the fortunate circumstances. "You were _right!_ Everything turned out okay! And I still have ten minutes to get home!"

Suddenly, the ground shook once again, and the giant centepeedle burst out from under the waves. Stephanie and Ronnie screamed in terror as they both ran towards the boardwalk that led to the Rebel Gems' temple. The centepeedle followed them closely as they ducked underneath the boardwalk. Stephanie wondered why the centepeedle was chasing them when she saw the glistening necklace in Ronnie's hand.

"Ronnie! Give me your necklace!"

"What?!"

"Just trust me! And be ready to run back onto the beach!" Ronnie handed the necklace to Stephanie and got back onto the beach. Just as she suspected, the centepeedle followed Stephanie as she maneuvered through the wooden support beams to the boardwalk. The centepeedle continued its pursuit as Stephanie planned, without noticing it was getting caught between the wooden beams. Finally, Stephanie ran out onto the beach next to Ronnie, and the centepeedle was too tangled up in itself to follow.

Stephanie and Ronnie held each other's hand as the centepeedle wailed in agony, trying to free itself. Finally, the support beams snapped from the pressure, causing a portion of the boardwalk to crush the centepeedle under it. In a puff of smoke, the centepeedle disappeared, leaving behind only a green gem.

"Stephanie!" Three voices called out from behind the two teenagers. They turned around to see Onyx, Quartz, and Carnelian rushing towards them. When they finally arrived, Quartz went directly to Stephanie.

"Stephanie, what happened?! What did you _do!?_ "

"SHE WAS AMAZING!" Ronnie's eyes were filled with excitement as his smile grew from ear-to-ear.

"You really _think_ so?" Stephanie blushed.

"Oh, my gosh! She was jumping around, dodging that monster and got it to kill itself! That was awesome!"

"Stephanie?" Onyx walked over to the girl with the green gem hovering over his hand in a containment bubble. "You defeated a centepeedle? By _yourself?_ " Stephanie's eyes lit up as she comprehended Onyx's question.

"Yeah, I guess I _did!_ "

Onyx tapped the containment bubble and sent the centepeedle to the containment room. _I'll be shattered_. Onyx thought to himself. _Maybe she_ is _ready_.

"Here's your necklace back… again." Stephanie handed Ronnie his necklace when Carnelian put his hands on Stephanie's shoulders.

" _Sooooooooooo_ , aren't you going to introduce us?" the short, blue gem teased.

"Stephanie was so _excited_ to meet you. _Weren't_ you, Stephanie?" Quartz asked in a polite tone. The two guardians made Stephanie blush as they crowded behind her.

"HEY!" Onyx picked Quartz and Carnelian up by their necks and proceeded to carry them back to the temple. "Don't mess with her funky flow!"

"Funky flow?" Ronnie smiled as Stephanie continued to blush.

* * *

 **Next: Serious Stephanie!**


	3. Serious Stephanie

**Please note: If I use the names of any gems that already exist in Steven Universe, they are nothing like they are in the show, I just use them because there's not that many gemstone names that will work for what I'm using.**

 **Chapter 3: Serious Stephanie!**

* * *

"Get ready, Stephanie." Onyx spoke to the excited teenage girl as they traveled through the warp, "This is going to be your first _serious_ mission."

"I'M READY!" Stephanie was so excited that as she levitated through the warp, she accidentally flipped upside-down.

"Stephanie, calm down! You're going to get-!" Quartz beckoned to the girl as the warp stream deactivated. Stephanie landed on her head with a grunt, igniting a hysterical laugh from Carnelian. "-hurt…" Quartz muttered to himself as he helped Stephanie off the ground.

"Aheh heh. Sorry, Quartz, I got a little excited."

After learning of her triumph over the centepeedle, Onyx decided Stephanie deserved a field test. So, when his future vision sensed a gem artifact in one of the abandoned battlefields from the Homeworld War, he saw it as the perfect opportunity.

"Onyx," Quartz grabbed the de facto leader's arm to get his attention, "I'm having second thoughts about bringing Stephanie along."

"Shhh," Onyx brushed Quartz's hands off of his arm, "just _look_ at her." Quartz turned to see Stephanie's arms crossed over her chest as she proudly smiled at Onyx's reassurance. The group began to walk down from the warp-pad into a field of wild strawberries. As Stephanie noticed the various weapons scattered around, Quartz was awe-struck as he rotated his body as he moved forward.

"Astonishing," the tall, white Gem breathed, "this used to be a battlefield for one of the most gruesome and fierce battles of the entire war. Now, it's just wild strawberries as far as the eye can see. Perhaps this will be an easy mission after all." But as Quartz noticed the darkness surrounding the group, he silently retracted his claim.

The Rebel Gems stood in the shadow of a large pyramid with a ramp leading to the inside. The pyramid was nearly twice the size of the Gems' temple, covered in hieroglyphics which told the story of the war, and it radiated a dark, ominous essence. As the Rebels walked up the ramp to enter the temple, the three purebred Gems wielded their weapons while Stephanie followed closely behind. As they reached the entryway, their weapons disappeared as they saw that there was no imminent threat.

Suddenly, the door behind them closed, and the room lit up with torches surrounding several other doors around the room. Stephanie's breathing began to speed up as beads of sweat rolled down the side of her head, and she quickly moved closer to Onyx. Onyx sensed her worry and placed his right palm in front of her face, emitting a small glow from his gem.

"Don't worry, Stephanie," Onyx spoke in his usual, calm voice. The light from his gems always seemed to have a calming effect on Stephanie's mind whenever she needed comfort. One day, Stephanie finally asked how he was able to take away her pain with little effort, he explained it as his 'empathy appetite;' capable of absorbing negative emotions and making it easier for him to relieve others of their troubles. This came in handy, seeing as how Stephanie seemed to attract a lot of drama.

"Okay, here's what's going to happen;" Quartz pulled Stephanie so close to his chest, he was practically carrying her. "Stephanie and I will stay _here_ , where it is safe, while you two test to see if one of these doors lead to the way out."

"No, Quartz, I wanna help!" Stephanie struggled with Quart until Onyx finally split the two of them up.

"Stephanie comes with me. Should we encounter danger, I will protect her with my life."

"Yes!" Stephanie pumped her fist in the air as she followed Onyx through one of the doors.

"But this could by the gyro-ride all _over_ again!" Quartz warned. This comment made Stephanie slightly blush as she turned around to spit out a retort. But she wanted to seem professional in front of Onyx, so she thought of her next words very carefully.

"Hey, I've put that _behind_ me!" as the door behind them closed, Stephanie turned to Onyx with an eager expression. "I can't believe you actually wanted me to come with you, Onyx!"

"Everyone has potential," Onyx raised a finger as he responded to Stephanie, "but it is not worth _anything_ if it is never tested. Do you know who told me that?"

"My dad?" Stephanie rolled her eyes in slight annoyance. The Rebel Gems would occasionally compare Stephanie to Crimson Topaz, leading her to believe that they held impossible expectations for her. Yet, to her surprise, Onyx chuckled and patted her head.

"Good guess," Onyx smiled, "but no… my _sister_."

Stephanie was completely taken by surprise. She understood that Onyx was very secretive and mysterious, but _this_ news nearly made her eyes pop out. "Y-you have a _sister?_ "

"I _had_ a sister." Onyx sighed, depressingly. "We were separated at creation. I never met her until I joined your father in the Rebellion. She and I were _very_ close."

"What happened to her?"

"We got… _separated_ during the war." Onyx's head slightly tilted downward as he pressed forward. "She was kidnapped by the Homeworld forces, we never found her _gems_ , but it has been _years_ since I last saw her." Onyx noticed the curiosity in Stephanie's eyes as they reached their next door. "I understand that what I have just told you has raised _many_ questions… but it is a story for _another day_." Stephanie nodded in agreement as the door opened.

In this room, the floor was tiled in a checkerboard pattern that stretched all the way to the other side. A few of the tiles lit up in different areas to form a path to the other door. Onyx held Stephanie back as he carefully studied the pattern. Stephanie stared at Onyx as he stood motionless, trying to understand what they needed to do. Finally, Onyx faced Stephanie and explained their next move.

"Listen closely, Stephanie; we need to stay on the _illuminated_ tiles."

"Got it!" Stephanie shouted as she heeded the Rebel's warning. Stephanie leapt onto the glowing tiles as she was instructed, with Onyx following closely behind. As Stephanie reached the next door, the entire room vibrated violently. Before she knew it, Stephanie lost her balance and landed on a dark tile. Suddenly, the tiles began to fall, one by one, into a vat of flames. Acting quickly, Onyx leapt into action, grabbing Stephanie and rushing them into the next room.

Stephanie was trembling as Onyx helped her up. As the door suddenly shut behind her, Stephanie yelped in fear and backed away. Onyx noticed that the girl was clenching her stomach as if she were about to vomit. "We can take a _break_ if you're not feeling well, Stephanie." Onyx placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder as he tried to comfort her.

"What?" when Stephanie finally comprehended what her guardian had said, she steeled her nerves and straightened her posture. She was determined to prove herself to the Rebels, and no magic temple was going to stop her. "N-no, Onyx, I'm fine. Let's keep _going_. I'm tough! Remember?" Stephanie flexed her biceps to feign her resilience.

" _Alright_ , but be _careful_. You might set off a _trap_ with that gun show." Onyx crossed his arms as he jokingly pointed out Stephanie's stance.

"Right," Stephanie put her arms down and turned to face the door at the other end of the room. "I'll put these away, and use my _brain_." But as Stephanie moved forward, a tile underneath her foot made a slight click. Suddenly, Stephanie and Onyx saw the ceiling open up, revealing spikes coming down on them. Onyx acted quickly, summoning his dual flyssa swords and combining them at the hilt. With one hand, Onyx spun the swords so that they deflected the spikes, and with his other hand, he grabbed Stephanie and rushed her into the next room.

"Well, _that_ was exciting…" Stephanie tried to cover her fear by making a joke, but she quickly noticed the room they were in. Three stepping stones hovered in the air over a pool of lava. In between the stepping stones, razor-sharp blades sliced back and forth, as pillars systematically slammed down onto the stepping stones. Stephanie closed her eyes as the room shook violently.

"Get ready, Stephanie," Onyx clenched his fists as he spoke to the girl, "this is gonna be _intense!_ "

* * *

 **One Month Earlier…**

"Get ready, Stephanie, this is gonna be _intense!_ " Onyx smiled as he and Stephanie were the next in line to get on the gyro-ride at Beach City's famous amusement park.

"I'M READY!" Stephanie and Onyx got into their seats and the engineer activated the ride. As they were lifted into the air, the seats began to spin around rapidly, as the seats went up and down. Onyx remained perfectly still, as though he wasn't even on the ride. However, the quick motions were having a negative effect on Stephanie. She held her stomach tightly as the ride finally came to a stop.

"That was fun, Stephanie." Onyx lightly patted Stephanie on the back, prompting her to vomit all over her clothes. As everyone else present began to laugh at her misfortune, Onyx cradled the teenage girl in his arms and took her home.

* * *

 **Present…**

Stephanie opened her eyes as she felt her feet touch the ground. She turned around to see that she and Onyx were standing at the other end of the room, as the deadly traps deactivated. "We… _made it?_ "

"I carried you while you took a nap." Onyx shrugged and moved into the next room.

"N-nap!?" Stephanie felt embarrassed. She wanted to prove herself today, and instead, she fell asleep in the middle of a mission out of fright. She slowly followed Onyx, feeling rather depressed, when her eyes suddenly widened when they exited the door. Somehow, Stephanie and Onyx managed to end up back in the room that they started in.

"Onyx!" Quartz ran up to his de facto leader with fear blazing in his eyes. "These doors all lead back here!" Suddenly, Carnelian came out of a door, with several blades stuck in his arm.

"GET! ME! OUTTA HERE!" Carnelian screamed in frustration. He ran through a different door and came through another one, trapped in a block of ice.

"I just don't understand!" Quartz looked at his hands as he tried to figure out what they needed to do. "We each went through three separate doors that lead to three rooms that all went in a straight line, but they led back _here_. Which means… well, I don't _know_ what it means!"

Onyx rubbed his chin as he rotated his body to look at all of the doors. After adjusting his sunglasses, Onyx sprinted through one door, leaving a trail of dust behind him. But, to Stephanie and Quartz's shock, he just came back through a different door. Onyx gritted his teeth and ran through another door, only to end up back in the room. He repeated this pattern, increasing his speed until all that Stephanie and Quartz could see was a gray blur speeding in and out of the doors. Finally, Onyx stopped, kneeled down and panted heavily as he faced his friends.

"Phew! There's got to be _some_ way out of here."

"We'll never escape!" Quartz broke down and wrapped his arms around himself. " _This_ is our new _home!_ "

"Quartz, you're overreacting." Onyx stood up and placed his hands on his waist as he tried to ease his comrade's fear.

"I'M NOT OVERREACTING! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!" Quartz began to frantically run around the room as Onyx grimly stared at the doors.

"W-what are we gonna do, Onyx?" Stephanie shivered as she moved closer to her guardian.

"We go back through, again. And again. And again. And again." Onyx's last words echoed through Stephanie's brain, as if to mockingly tell her that she'd never get out. Her face turned pale, her pupils shrank, and her lips quivered until she finally dropped to her knees and let out a terrified scream.

"I _can't!_ " Quartz stopped running to face Stephanie, while Onyx went over to her side. "I was _wrong!_ I thought I'd be ready to fight beside you guys, maybe if I did okay on _this_ mission, you guys would bring me on _more missions!_ But, now, I feel like I'm gonna throw up! This is _just_ like the gyro-ride!"

"Oh, Stephanie," Quartz raised his hands in comfort as he began to move towards the teenage girl. "I didn't _really_ mean-"

" _Waaaaaait!_ " Stephanie suddenly bolted up with wide eyes, taking Onyx and Quartz by surprise. "Maybe this _is_ just like the gyro-ride! All of these rooms aren't going _straight_ ; they spin around when the doors close! That's why we keep coming back _here!_ That's why I'm feeling _sick!_ "

After hearing her idea, Onyx moved to the center of the room and summoned his swords. Like a machine, Onyx began to chip away at the floor, with each blow becoming stronger than the last. Finally, Onyx stopped and looked at Stephanie. "Stephanie, put your arms around my waist, and don't _let go_." Stephanie did as she was told and Onyx raised his swords over his cube-shaped hair. Suddenly, his gems charged the swords with powerful currents of lightning. After combining the swords into one, Onyx slammed it down and shattered the entire floor.

To everyone's shock, beneath the floor was a pillar with a gray gem inside. The pillar was surrounded by several gears and tiles that appeared to rotate around it like planets in orbit. Carnelian fell onto one of the tiles, shattering his icy prison, and he held on for dear life. Quartz managed to grab onto a gear while Stephanie noticed that she and Onyx were floating in the air.

"Onyx? You never told me you could _fly!_ " Stephanie had stars in her eyes as she smiled at everything around her. Her hypothesis had just been proven correct, yet all she cared about now was that Onyx had shown her something beyond her knowledge.

"Because I _can't_." Onyx smiled as they hovered closer to the pillar. "This isn't _flying_ , this is _levitating_."

"Amazing!" Everyone turned their attention to Quartz, who smiled as he continued to hold onto the gear. "This pillar is emitting its own gravitational field, spinning these gears and tiles beneath the rooms, in turn, spinning the rooms around until we met back at where we started! It's just like the gyro-ride at the amusement park!"

"Stephanie already figured that out!" Onyx placed his palm beside his mouth so that Quartz could hear him.

"Oh… right." Quartz blushed brightly as he realized Onyx was right.

Onyx and Stephanie finally got to the pillar, where Stephanie grabbed onto the gem and pulled with all of her might. Finally, the gem came out of the pillar, and a blinding light surrounded everyone. Quartz and Carnelian landed in the strawberry field, as Onyx slowly carried Stephanie down to the ground. Stephanie smiled as she handed Onyx the gem, allowing him to create a grey containment bubble around it and teleport it to the temple.

"So, did I _pass_ this test?" Stephanie put her arms behind her back and smiled sheepishly.

"Yes, Stephanie," Quartz kneeled down as he placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder. "You passed with _flying colors_."

"You may not have reached your _full potential_ ," Onyx crossed his arms as he walked up next to the girl. "But you'll get there… in your _own_ special way."

Stephanie smiled as her three guardians hugged her tightly.

 **Next: Giant Person!**


	4. Giant Person

**Chapter 4: Giant Person!**

 **Now this chapter has a song, just like Steven Universe does every few episodes. But since I have no creativity, I borrowed a song from Quest for Camelot since I felt it fits Quartz's and Carnelian's relationship. Here's a key to tell who's singing what:**

 **Carnelian=Bold**

 _Quartz=Italics_

 _ **Both=Both**_

* * *

Stephanie stood over Quartz and Carnelian, holding a lot of water balloons, as the two Gems were currently in a heated game of checkers. Quartz sat patiently at the picnic table as Carnelian rubbed his chin, trying to think of the best move he could make. Suddenly, his eyes lit up and he jumped one of his pieces over one of Quartz's. After Carnelian made his move, Stephanie hit Quartz with a water balloon.

"Stephanie…" Quartz wiped the water off of his face as he spoke, "are the water balloons _really_ necessary?"

"Yeah!" Stephanie smiled brightly. "This way, the moves really matter!"

"But it's _checkers!_ " Quartz motioned towards the board with a confused look. " _Every_ move matters."

"Heh. Spoken like a _sore loser_ …" Carnelian mocked the white Rebel as he held up his L-shaped gesture to his forehead. This made Quartz growl at first, but he quickly changed his face to a smug grin.

"How can I be a sore _loser_ …?" Quartz grabbed one of his pieces and tapped it over all of Carnelian's remaining pieces. "When I just _won!_ "

"What!? Lay it _on_ me, sister!" Carnelian closed his eyes and lifted his arms as Stephanie threw the remaining water balloons onto the short, blue Gem. Carnelian slowly rubbed his face, enjoying the cool sensation of water on his skin. "Ah, feels _good_ to lose."

"I certainly hope that's not your attitude during _battle_." Quartz crossed his arms at his comrade's statement, triggering an obnoxious sigh from Carnelian.

"Geez, Quartz, you're no _fun_ anymore! This is why we don't form Pyrite."

"I beg your _pardon!?_ " Quartz was now standing up with a frustrated look on his face. "We don't form Pyrite because _you_ are reckless and uncontrollable!" The two Gems began to bicker back and forth until Stephanie finally pushed them apart.

"Guys, guys, wait... what's Pyrite?" Stephanie's eyes were filled with wonder. Could it have been that Quartz and Carnelian were about to share something about Gem culture? Carnelian smiled at the girl's eagerness and promptly wrapped his arm around her shoulder and began to explain.

"Oh, he's not a ' _what_ '… he's a ' _him._ 'He's me and Quartz, _mashed together_."

"Excuse me?" Quartz was now completely annoyed. "Is steel just iron ore and carbon ' _mashed together?_ '" Quartz attempted to mock Carnelian, but his metaphor seemed to go over the two younger Gems' heads. "What Carnelian was _trying_ to say was: Pyrite is a _fusion_ of our gems. When we perform a special dance, our gems synchronize and our physical forms combine into a bigger, more powerful one."

"Wow, do it now! Please!" Stephanie had stars in her eyes, hoping her guardians would show her this Pyrite. But to her disappointment, Quartz lifted up a palm and closed his eyes.

"We only form Pyrite when it is absolutely _necessary_ , Stephanie." He tried to explain, but Carnelian just brushed past him to put in his two cents.

"Yeah, plus, I've got _three_ good reasons why we don't fuse otherwise. Reason number one: look at that guy!" Quartz showed offense at Carnelian's choice of words. "He fights with a silly stick!"

"We've been _over this!_ " Quartz gritted his teeth as he summoned his weapon from the quartz in his forehead. "It's called a _quarterstaff_ , and you _know it!_ "

"Oh, right…" Carnelian rolled his eyes. "That's a quarterstaff… and _that's_ a _dress_."

" _Tunic!_ "

"Reason number two: look what I can do…" Carnelian flipped onto the picnic table to do a one-handed hand-stand, much to the confusion of Stephanie.

"Wha-What does that have to do with _anything_ -?"

"No, no…" Quartz rubbed his chin in slight amazement at Carnelian's skill. "He's got a _point_."

"Reason number three: he's bitter all the time because he can't go back to Homeworld." Carnelian jumped from the table and landed in front of Quartz, who was now completely insulted. " _Sad_ really."

"Oh, excuse-moi, mister full-of-himself," Quartz spun Carnelian around as he pointed in his face, " but I do believe you mean: _we_ can't go back to Homeworld."

"Only 'cause you're holding me _back!_ " Carnelian slapped Quartz's hand out of his face and began to dance and sing as he proved his point. "If I didn't have _you_ I could do a _lot of things!_ "

 **I'd be rocking with the geodes!**

 **Cycling down the rock roads!**

 **I'd de-crystallize this temple in a minute!**

 **Carnelian! They would sing, 'cause I would be the Crystal King!**

 **I would love this world without you in it.**

 **If I didn't have you!**

"If _you_ didn't have _me?_ " Quartz tried to interrupt, but Carnelian just brushed him aside and carried on.

 **If I didn't have you!**

"Well, how about if _I_ didn't have _you_ , huh?"

 _ **Oh, what I could be, if there was only me!**_

 _ **Oh, what I'd do, if I didn't have you!**_

"Guys! I just wanna see Pyrite, so get your _act_ together!" Stephanie tried to break up the argument and lead them back to their previous conversation, but a key word ignited an idea in Quartz's mind.

"Act!?" he smiled as he turned to Stephanie. "Did you say _act?_ _I_ can act!"

 _If only I weren't with this creature!_

 _My career would be theatre!_

 _I'd be the star! And sing a lot!_

 _You'd be the Gem that the Homeworld forgot!_

 _If I didn't have you!_

"I should _be_ so lucky!" Carnelian rolled his eyes before Quartz shoved him out of annoyance.

 _If I didn't have you!_

"Oh, wait! You'd be _dead!_ " The two Rebel Gems stared at each other, grimly, before they carried on.

 _ **Oh, what I could be if there was only me!**_

 _ **Oh, what I'd do if I didn't have you!**_

 _ **Oh, what I'd do if I didn't have you!**_

"I mean, you think I _like_ being stuck here with this uptight loser for _three hundred years?_ " Carnelian grasped the sides of his head in frustration.

"Oh, dear, it's learned to _count_." Quartz flicked the blue Gem in the head.

"If I had gotten me a good lawyer, I would've split _two hundred_ years ago!"

"Now listen here, pal, I didn't come here to be _insulted!_ "

"Oh? Well, where do you _usually_ go?"

 _I'd be a very famous writer!_

 **I'd be one, high-flyin' fighter!**

 _You'd be nothing without me!_

 _You'd be shattered, you'd cease to be!_

 **I'm so tired of your nagging!**

 _And I'm so tired of your bragging!_

 **Ha ha! Without me, you'd have no brain!**

 _With which to think!_

 _ **Oh, what I could be, if there was only me!**_

 _ **Oh, what I'd do, if I didn't have you!**_

 _ **Oh, what I'd do, if I didn't have you!**_

For a brief moment, the two Rebel Gems just coldly stared at each other before Stephanie broke the silence.

"So, when you fuse, does one of you control the left half of Pyrite, and the other controls the _right_ half?" The two Gems sighed in frustration. It was as if Stephanie wasn't paying attention.

Suddenly, a light appeared from the temple, and the three Rebels rushed inside. Onyx stepped off of the warp pad as the others entered. "Listen up, I've located the Geode Beetles of Heaven and Earth."

"Sweet!" Carnelian pumped his fists into the air. "I want to go with whoever's _not_ going with Quartz!"

"No. You, Quartz, and Stephanie will go _together_." The three Rebels were puzzled by their de facto leader's order. "You'll find the Earth Beetle at the Kingdom of Caverns."

"But, Onyx," Quartz protested, desperate to be away from Carnelian, "why can't one of _us_ go with _you?_ "

"The Heaven Beetle is in the Kingdom of Thunder and Lightning. And _I'm_ the only one of us who can survive lightning. You have your orders, now _go_."

The other two purebred Gems grudgingly went to the warp pad together with Stephanie close behind. After a quick warp, the three Gems found themselves in a dark cavern, illuminated by torches leading in one direction. At the end of the cavern, the three Rebels saw a large structure that resembled a castle, this could only have been the Kingdom of Caverns Onyx mentioned.

"Wow," Stephanie admired the beautiful scenery before turning to her guardians. "So is Pyrite a _giant_ , giant person, or is he a _regular-sized_ giant person?" But her question went ignored as Carnelian and Quartz pressed onward. "Oh, _c'mon!_ All I wanna do is see you turn into a giant person!"

For what felt like hours, the three Rebels climbed through the cavern. Stephanie felt on the verge of collapsing until Carnelian noticed her exhaustion and lifted her onto his shoulders. Finally, they reached the peak of the castle, only to find that there was nothing there.

"I… I don't understand." Quartz moved to the center of the peak, using the quartz in his forehead as a searchlight to investigate the area. "There should be a beetle-shaped gem _right here!_ "

"Well, if it's not _here_ , then where is it, oh, wise and perfect Quartz?" Carnelian taunted as Quartz continued his search.

"Hey, I don't see _you_ looking for it!"

"Oh, so what, it's _my fault_ the beetle isn't here?"

"Guys, guys, stop!" Stephanie got between the two Gems and held up her arms. "If you don't stop arguing, I might never get to see a giant person!" Suddenly, the entire castle shook, and a giant, mole-like creature crawled out of another cave. This monster was a familiar, a creature with no gem, who acted like the animals it resembled. Usually, they were calm and easy to tame, but this monster's intentions appeared to solely depend on hunger as it opened its mighty jaws and moved towards Stephanie. "Or I might get _eaten!_ "

"Stephanie!" Carnelian and Quartz screamed in unison as the familiar clamped its jaws around Stephanie and swallowed.

Before she knew it, Stephanie was stumbling through darkness. She screamed in terror as she saw the decayed corpses of the familiar's previous victims. Summoning her shield, Stephanie walked through the stomach of the familiar, looking for a way out. But she suddenly stopped when she felt something sharp poke through her shoe. She hopped around in pain as she pulled the object out of her shoe. It was a black gemstone with strands of gold wrapped around it to resemble an insect-like appearance.

"The Earth Beetle!" Stephanie cheered as she pumped her fists in the air. "This mission is _halfway_ over! Now I just need to get out of here." Suddenly, a large, golden arm burst through the familiar's stomach. Stephanie yelped and backed away, but three more arms burst through, feeling around as if they were searching for something. At last, one of the arms grabbed Stephanie and pulled her out of the familiar's stomach.

Stephanie soon found herself spiraling through the air as someone held her tight. When she finally opened her eyes, Stephanie saw that she was cradled in two large golden arms. She looked down to see thick, muscular legs covered by leather pants. Above the arms cradling her, there were two more arms behind her rescuer's back, a golden gem in his chest and another in his forehead. The man had a golden face with four eyes, a strong jaw, and long silvery hair tied back in a ponytail. This man stood almost ten feet tall and stared at the familiar as it began to charge at them.

"Stay low." The golden man put Stephanie down and took four steps forward. Summoning Quartz's quarterstaff and Carnelian's flail, the golden man slammed the weapons together, transforming them into a bow. Using both of his left arms to hold the bow, and both of his right hands to pull back the string, an arrow of light began to form. Finally, when the familiar was close enough, the golden man released the string, and the arrow struck the familiar in the chest. With a final wail of agony, the familiar turned into pure light and disappeared, leaving the golden man free to help Stephanie back onto her feet.

For a while, Stephanie could only gape at the smiling man with two gemstones, until she finally spoke. "Uh… do you… _know_ who I am?" The golden man chuckled at Stephanie's nervousness and leaned down to look her in the eyes.

"All you wanna do… is see us turn into…"

"A _giant person…!_ " Stephanie gasped in amazement. This was Pyrite.

Later in the temple, Onyx rubbing his arms and legs with a wet towel to cool his body of from the lightning strikes. He turned around s he heard the warp pad activate, and saw Stephanie and Pyrite enter the temple. "The Earth Beetle?" He asked, prompting Pyrite to gasp out of fear.

"I don't have it!" Suddenly, Pyrite's form began to morph until his entire body became pure light. Pyrite disappeared, leaving Quartz and Carnelian to land on the floor.

"Carnelian! You lost concentration _first!_ "

"Hey, _you_ were the one getting carried away with that fancy fusion weapon!"

"Wait, I have it!" Stephanie pulled the Earth Beetle out of her pocket and handed it to Onyx.

"Well, done Stephanie," Onyx bubbled the Earth Beetle and sent it to the containment room. "I see you were also able to help your teammates fuse." Quartz and Carnelian stared at each other in disbelief, as if they hadn't realized what they had done.

"And all I had to do was get _eaten!_ " Stephanie laughed as Onyx patted her head.

"Well done, Stephanie," Onyx activated the door to his room and stepped inside. "You'll be _great_ at fusing _yourself_ someday."

"Yeah…" Stephanie walked to her room before she spun around in surprise. "WAIT, _I_ CAN DO THAT, _TOO!?_ "

 **Next: Ronnie the Fighter!**

* * *

 **To help better understand: In Steven Universe, a familiar is a piece of fiction that has nothing to do with the Gems. In this story, it is a spirit animal that belongs to specific Gems. Stephanie's tigers are familiars. Sorry this chapter is short, I just needed a way to introduce the concept of fusion.**


	5. Ronnie the Fighter or Onyx's New Student

**Chapter 5: Lessons in Life!**

* * *

Stephanie was excited. Two days ago, she received a call from her friend, Ronnie Markson, saying that since the school year was about to end, he'd have plenty of time to hang out with her. While she wasn't exactly sure what they would do, she knew several places on the boardwalk that held much potential. As she patiently waited for his arrival, she heard a noise coming from the kitchen. She turned around to see Carnelian opening packages of cocoa powder and proceeding to pour them into his mouth.

"Y'know, Carnelian," Stephanie twisted her face in slight disgust, "those taste a lot better if you mix them with _water_."

" _Nah_ , I'm good." The short Gem shrugged as he proceeded to pour the chocolate into his mouth. But he quickly craned his head in the direction of the great hallway as a blue light flashed from one of the doors. "Hey! That's _my_ room!" Carnelian dropped the package and rushed to the door.

Carnelian stopped in his tracks as the tall Gem know as Quartz stepped outside, holding a curved blade. "Ah, Carnelian, my friend," Quartz frowned as he spoke in his usual, uptight tone, "care to explain what one of _my swords_ was doing in _your room?_ "

"Having a _sword party_ …" Carnelian shrugged humorously.

"Oh, _please!_ " Quartz spat in frustration. "You _took it_ , you little kleptomaniac!"

"I did _not!_ " Carnelian stomped his foot in anger, "Just because I happen to be a kleptomaniac, doesn't mean I steal _everything!_ "

"That's _exactly_ what it means!" Quartz pinched his forehead and deeply sighed. "It's okay, I forgive you."

" _Ugh_ …"

"Also, I cleaned up the horrible mess you call your room. You're welcome."

"You did _what!?_ I have a _system!_ " Carnelian pushed past Quartz and entered his room, slamming the door behind him.

"Oh, hello, Stephanie." Quartz finally noticed the teenage girl as he walked slightly farther down the hallway towards his own room. "What are you doing?"  
"Ronnie said he'd come over soon, we're gonna have a lot of fun! But I haven't decided what we're actually _going_ to do yet…" Stephanie stopped talking when she realized that Quartz wasn't even listening to her.

"Oh, that's nice." Quartz quickly responded before entering his room. Stephanie rolled her eyes in annoyance. Quartz was a good brother, but he was a terrible listener. Finally, Stephanie heard a knock at the door, leapt to her feet, and rushed over to greet her friend.

"Hi, Ronnie! What do you-?!" Stephanie stopped when she noticed that Ronnie seemed rather depressed. "Uh, Ronnie, are you okay?"

"Not really…" Ronnie dropped his backpack on the ground, letting all of his books and papers fall out.

"What's wrong?" Stephanie walked with her friend over to the couch, where he began to explain his sad demeanor. He explained that in order for the boxing gym in Beach City to remain in business, there has to be a certain number of people taking lessons.

"… and since nobody else wants to learn, the gym is closing down." Stephanie put a sympathetic arm around Ronnie's shoulders as he continued. "Boxing was the only thing I had to do after school. I was really looking forward to it this year. I'd really like to learn how to box, I just need someone to _teach me_."

"Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea!" Stephanie's eyes lit up with excitement as she grabbed her friend's arm and dragged him down the hallway. They both stopped in front of an eight-foot door. The door was half-black, half-white, and divided by a Y-shaped line with a gray triangle at the top. Stephanie slightly lifted her shirt so that the gem in her navel could come in contact with the door. In a flash of gray light, the triangle slid up into the ceiling, while the black and white halves slid into the walls. Stephanie and Ronnie held hands as they were suddenly surrounded by the ominous energies emitting from the room.

Stephanie lifted a finger over her mouth to warn Ronnie to be quiet. She had never been in Onyx's room before, but he always told her that she could come in if she needed something. The room was very dark, with only black and white candles available to allow any light. The air was filled with a balanced scent of dark chocolate and French vanilla. A tattered piece of cloth hung on one side of the room, while a neatly pressed tuxedo and an antique saxophone were displayed in a glass case on the other side. A low tune of soft jazz filled the air as it crept from an old record player sitting on a gray nightstand. As Stephanie looked down, she noticed that half of the floor was black hardwood, and the other half was soft white carpet.

In all the years that Stephanie had known Onyx, the one thing that she could never understand was his obsession with balancing black and white with everything he owned.

Finally, the two friends found the tall Rebel Gem sitting, cross-legged, on a pile of gray pillows. His mirrored visor was lying right next to him as his palms faced the ceiling, emitting a bright, gray light. As he sat, he silently spoke in an African dialect that neither of the two teenagers understood. When Stephanie moved closer, she could see paintings of five different people hanging on the wall in front of him. Three appeared to be Gems, but the other two were definitely ordinary humans. Once Stephanie got up the nerve to tap Onyx on the shoulder, the music stopped, which almost caused both human teenagers to jump out of their skins.

"Um, Onyx… is this a bad time?"

"No… no, Stephanie," Onyx put his visor back over his eyes and continued to speak in his usual, calm tone, "what can I do for you?"

Stephanie explained Ronnie's predicament about the boxing gym closing down, and how Stephanie thought that since Onyx was so good at teaching her how to fight, he'd be able to train Ronnie as well. When Stephanie finished her plea, she smiled and silently begged Onyx to agree with her large, starry eyes. Finally, Onyx stood up, and patted Stephanie on her head.

"I can't say 'no' to that face." Onyx chuckled as the two teenagers rejoiced.

"Thank you, Mister Onyx! I really appreciate it!" Ronnie shook Onyx's hand as he smiled at his new instructor.

"It is my _pleasure_ , Ronnie." Onyx continued. "I have been helping my soul brothers and sisters ever since I was brought to this country as a slave."

At the sound of Onyx's last word, Ronnie looked up with a confused expression. " _You_ were a _slave?_ " Onyx nodded at Ronnie's question. "But, that doesn't make any sense. That would make you… almost _four hundred_ years old."

"Yes…" Onyx replied, earning a shocked look from both teenagers.

"Oh… well, uh… you're looking… spry." Ronnie smiled weakly.

"So, Onyx," Stephanie quickly cut in to change the subject, "How did _you_ learn how to fight?"

"I'm glad you asked. This was _my_ instructor," Onyx proudly motioned his hand to the painting of a green and red-skinned Gem, "Master Alexandrite. It was from _his_ teachings that I was able to fight and to control my future vision."

"'Future vision?'" Ronnie cocked an eyebrow and turned to Stephanie for an explanation.

"Yeah! Onyx has this special power that actually lets him see the _future!_ "

"No, Stephanie, we've been _over_ this multiple times," Onyx had his guests sit down as he spoke. " _No one_ can see the _future_. 'Future vision' is just a simplified term used to describe this unique ability. Master Alexandrite had this power, and there were _other_ Gems who had this power, but we definitely do _not_ see the future. We reach out with our minds to see _infinite possibilities_ and _trajectories_. Limitless _decisions_ and their _outcomes_. We are given an idea of different things that _could_ happen, and the likelihood of which one _will_ happen. Time is like a _river_ , my students; it splits into _creeks_ , or pools into _lakes_ , or careens down _waterfalls_. I have the map, and I steer the ship."

Stephanie and Ronnie stared in awe as Onyx explained the concept of his future vision. How the power came from an ability that is similar to what humans referred to as 'mind over matter.' This not only granted him the ability to see possible choices and outcomes, but it also granted him telepathy, telekinesis, and levitation.

"Wow," Stephanie raised her hand eagerly, "so, can you predict where you're going to train us?"

"Hmm," Onyx rubbed his chin as a gray circle of light appeared in the center of his visor. "Well, we're already inside of the temple, so the most likely probability is that we'll go to the gymnasium the others and I built when we first started training _you_."

The tall Gem opened his door and led his two students to the gymnasium. When they arrived, Onyx smirked as he saw his usual exercising equipment; five concrete pillars, a five thousand pound dumbbell, and a small hovering robot with three holes on its sides. Motioning for Stephanie and Ronnie to stay where they were, Onyx walked over to the robot and snapped his fingers. In an instant, his dual flyssa swords appeared in his clutches as the robot activated and began to circle around him.

Onyx kneeled into his defense position as he mirrored the robot's motions. Suddenly, the robot blasted multiple streams of lasers in Onyx's direction. With a smug look on his face, Onyx quickly deflected each blast with ease. Then, the tall Gem rushed to the robot, retracted one of his swords and lifted his left palm. The robot crashed into the wall and deactivated.

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" Onyx's students cheered in unison as he walked back over to him.

"Were you always so cool, Onyx?" Stephanie asked eagerly.

"No, Stephanie," Onyx held up both of his palms, spreading a bright gray light over the wall. "When I first awoke on Earth, I was like a child. I was raised by a tribe in Africa, who taught me to fight using only blunt force and anger to my advantage. I was taken from my adoptive mother and brought here as a slave. Then, I was liberated by your father and Master Alexandrite." The light began to show images of Onyx's past. How his frustration often caused him to fail every attempt Alexandrite made to train him.

* * *

 **Almost four hundred years ago…**

"Master Alexandrite, this is _impossible!_ " a younger Onyx angrily slammed his fist into the wall as the training robot awaited for his next attack. All three of his eyes were filled with frustration as he spoke to his instructor. "I will _never_ learn to fight like you!"

"Is that so, my young student?" the Gem's skin shifted from green to red as he calmly spoke to his apprentice. "Let us try a different test." Alexandrite put his arm around Onyx's shoulders and led him over to five pillars. "Onyx, I know that this power lies within you. Focus on what you wish to achieve. Lift the pillars."

Onyx looked at the pillars in front of him as he raised his palm in their direction. The pillars slightly shook as Onyx's hand trembled from the effort he put into his assignment. Finally, Onyx warily lowered his hand and faced his instructor. "I'm sorry, Master Alexandrite… I have failed you… time and time again… I am an unworthy student… I rely too much on my anger."

"You haven't failed _yet_ , Onyx." Alexandrite compassionately patted Onyx on the shoulder. "I think I know how to help. I have often believed that _love_ can be a far better motivator than _anger_. Would you mind if I were to…" Alexandrite placed two fingers to the gem on his forehead, indicating he wished to probe Onyx's mind. With slight reluctance, Onyx nodded in agreement.

Alexandrite's gem began to glow as he searched his student's mind for even the smallest moment of love. Finally, Onyx trembled as he and his instructor saw an image of Onyx and his adoptive mother in the desolate wastes of Africa. How she would comfort him after he had horrible nightmares. How she would cradle him in her arms and promise to keep him safe. Finally, the image disappeared, and Alexandrite only saw three tearful eyes before him.

"You wish to see her again, Onyx?" Alexandrite asked earning a sorrowful nod from his student. "I swear by my very being, you _shall_. But for now, you must learn to harness this power if you are to protect those you love."

Onyx made his way back to the pillars and lifted his palm in their direction. "Stretch out with your feelings, Onyx. Focus on what you wish to achieve." Alexandrite's words echoed through Onyx's mind as he took a deep breath and motioned his hand through the air. To his surprise, the pillars lifted up into the air with ease. Onyx tearfully laughed at his accomplishment, while his instructor was beaming with pride. The pillars lifted ten feet into the air before gently descending back to the ground. Onyx laughed once more before returning to his instructor.

"Thank you… my master." Onyx respectfully bowed to Alexandrite, who returned the favor.

"That's a good step forward, my young apprentice."

* * *

 **Present**

"Master Alexandrite continued to train me until I was fully prepared to be a soldier in the Rebellion. I owe much of who I am to him."

Stephanie and Ronnie were both welling up with tears. That was one of the most beautiful stories they had ever heard. But, they both rubbed their eyes dry once Onyx turned back around. The de facto Gem leader handed both humans a pair of boxing gloves and had them stand side-by-side.

"Now, before we begin," Onyx cracked his knuckles and shape-shifted boxing gloves of his own to appear on his hands, "understand that if you are to train under me, you will be taught in the style of Master Alexandrite. And what he taught _me_ was: when learning how to fight, there is no star of the show, no spotlight, no attention-getter. When learning to fight, there are only _two different types_ of people: an instructor and a student."

"Yes, sir." Ronnie nodded in understanding.

The next few hours seemed to pass by rather quickly. Onyx was impressed with how quickly Ronnie and Stephanie were able to learn the basic boxing techniques, so much so that he decided to take the lesson a little bit further. He began to teach them advanced nerve blows and counter-attacks that most Gem warriors learned during basic training. Onyx continued to press his students harder and harder, teaching them different ways to put their weight into each blow, or how to block an attack. Finally, when the clock struck five o' clock, Onyx decided that they had trained enough for one day.

Suddenly, Ronnie's phone rang and he held it up to his ear. "Hello? Yes, mom, I'm about to head home. I was just with Stephanie. Yes, we're being careful. What? Oh, uh…" Ronnie put the phone to his chest and gave Stephanie a worried look. "She wants to talk to one of your parents."

"Oh no," Stephanie bit her nails out of fear, "my mom's still at work! Wait a minute…" Stephanie snatched the phone out of Ronnie's hand and rushed over to Onyx. "Onyx, no time to explain, I need you to pretend to be _my dad_ to _Ronnie's mom_." Onyx looked at the phone and adjusted his visor as he put the receiver to his ear.

"Hello, this… is Dad Universe. Yes. The children have been playing bikes. Sorry, playing _with_ bikes. They fell off, oh no, they are bruised, I'll send your son right back home, don't call here again." Onyx hung up the phone and handed it back to Ronnie. "Sorry, I panicked."

Stephanie shook her head in confusion as she walked with Ronnie back to the living room. Ronnie thanked Onyx for training him for the day, and then thanked Stephanie for the idea. He and Stephanie made arrangements to have him keep coming over every week to continue to train. Once Ronnie had left, Stephanie went back to Onyx and thanked him for agreeing to help Ronnie.

"You really like this boy, don't you?"

"Well, of course, he's one of the only friends I have." Stephanie blushed slightly and rubbed her arm.

"Well, if you want, you can invite him over tomorrow when the others and I teach you how to fuse."

"Really!?" Stephanie's eyes were filled with stars as her smile grew wider. "Oh, thank you, Onyx! Ooh! I'm gonna go wait for mom to pull up in the drive way and tell her about my day!"

Onyx chuckled as Stephanie raced out of the screen door. Onyx had originally agreed to raise Stephanie as per Crimson Topaz's dying wish, but as the years progressed, Onyx had felt blessed to have Stephanie in his life. In many ways, he felt that she had taught him what it felt like to have a child of his own, and that made him even more content with staying on Earth.

Onyx re-entered his room and sat back down on his pile of pillows as he face the five paintings. Removing his visor once again, the tall Gem uttered four, final words before returning to his meditation: "Thank you, Master Alexandrite."

* * *

 **My take on future vision will be explored later on as this story progresses. BTW, it is good to know that so many people enjoy and appreciate my work!**

 **Next: Alone Together!**


	6. Fusion Lessons

**Chapter 6: Fusion Lessons!**

* * *

Stephanie and Ronnie walked together along the boardwalk as they headed to the Rebel's Temple. Stephanie was very excited to learn how to fuse today, and Ronnie would get to see the daily life of a Gem. When they finally arrived at the Temple, an idea popped into Stephanie's head that she knew Ronnie would like. Leading her friend to the farther side of the Temple, Stephanie lifted her arms to show off her prized pets.

"You have _tigers!_ " Ronnie nearly tripped over himself. His best friend was standing in front of a pen filled with four tigers, each with a different shade of red.

"Don't worry, Ronnie, they're friendly!" Stephanie could sense her friend's fear as he backed away. But she stepped over the pen and demonstrated the tigers' domestication. "They protect me and those I care about. They used to belong to my dad, but after he gave up his life so that I could live, they started following me. They won't hurt you, just… think of them as… as really big _cats_."

"Cats…" Ronnie breathed as he nervously got closer to the pen. "I like cats…" he moved his hand towards the tiger closest to him. Surprisingly, the tiger purred like a kitten as it rubbed its head on his hand. "G-good boy," Ronnie's heart began to return to its normal pace as he climbed into the pen with Stephanie.

"Uh… they're all _girls_ , actually." Stephanie pointed out for the sake of clarity.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Ronnie chuckled as the tiger continued to purr and rub up against is legs. "What're their names?"

"Well, _that one_ is Cherry," Stephanie pointed to the tiger at Ronnie's feet, "that one's Dahlia, that one's Ember, and _this one_ is Blush." Stephanie finally pointed down at the tiger that was licking her hand. "She's the _beta_."

"Who's the _alpha?_ " Ronnie cocked an eyebrow.

"You're _looking_ at her…"

Ronnie could not help but think about how cool Stephanie's life was. Compared to him, she was the most exciting and fun person on the planet. Before he met her, Ronnie felt very lonely, without any friends to offer him any emotional support. There were times that he was so lonely, he wished that he had never been born. But Stephanie seemed to make all of his loneliness disappear, and he was grateful for that.

Suddenly, a flash of red light appeared from the Temple. Stephanie recognized it as the warp pad activating, and led Ronnie into the house. Inside, they were greeted by a soaking-wet Carnelian, with an equally damp Quartz and Onyx behind him.

"Uh, what happened to _you guys?_ " Ronnie asked.

"Oh, hello Stephanie, Ronnie," Quartz answered as he was ringing the water out of his tunic, "we were on a mission to recover an artifact from the Homeworld colony; Atlantis. And our mission _would have been_ successful, but now we'll have to wait _another_ one hundred years for the air bubble to reform because _somebody_ couldn't keep their hands to _themselves!_ " Quartz and Carnelian shared a sour look.

"You have a lobster on your _butt_." Onyx spoke up as he pulled seaweed out of his cube-shaped afro. Quartz turned around and shrieked in terror as he saw that there was, indeed, a lobster clamped onto the back of his tunic. Carnelian, on the other hand, laughed at the white Gem's misfortune.

A few minutes later, Stephanie and Ronnie were sitting on the couch as the three Gems stood in front of them. Stephanie had her hands clamped together with zeal. Today, the Gems were going to teach her how to fuse. While Onyx leaned against the wall, Quartz and Carnelian took their places at opposite ends of the room and bowed to begin the process. Quartz's gem began to emit a bright white glow as he began to dance in the style of the waltz. At first, Quartz smiled as he went through the elegant motions, but when he allowed one eye to open, his face turned to disgust. Carnelian grinned widely as he shook his hips around and hopped around on a handstand. Finally, the two Gems bumped into each other and Quartz fell into Carnelian's arms.

Sure, enough, their bodies turned into pure light and fused into one being. In a flash of golden light, the ten-foot tall, golden Gem named Pyrite proudly stood in front of the two humans.

"As you know, Stephanie," Pyrite spoke calmly, "a fusion is made when two or more Gems combine into one. Like _me_." Pyrite flexed all four of his arms as he continued, "a fusion's body typically has extra body parts, and acts as a combination of the Gems' heights, strengths, and personalities." Suddenly, the two golden gems on Pyrite's forehead and chest began to flicker, causing Pyrite to violently split apart.

"But as you can see," Onyx went on to finish the fusion's lesson, "fusion is _hard_ for those who have trouble collaborating."

"I'm _great_ at collaborating!" Quartz spat as he bolted up from the ground.

"Yeah, _right!_ " Carnelian crossed his arms.

Now it was time for Stephanie to try. Quartz snapped his fingers to provide rhythm while she tried to dance with Carnelian. She and the blue Gem tried to do the Macarena, but Stephanie couldn't keep up with Carnelian's hip movements. Next, she tried to dance the waltz with Quartz, but their height difference caused Stephanie to hit her head on the floor when Quartz tried to dip her. Finally, Stephanie tried to join all three Gems in a group dance, but they moved too quickly for her to keep up.

"Man, I thought I almost had it for a second there." Stephanie grabbed a water bottle and went back to the couch.

"We don't expect you to be able to perform fusion _right away_ , Stephanie." Quartz spoke in a reassuring tone.

"Yeah, it's _really hard_ , even for us." Carnelian hopped up onto the kitchen counter as he backed up Quartz's statement.

"Not for _me_." Onyx said as he leaned against the wall.

"We'll keep practicing, Stephanie," Quartz ignored Onyx's boast and continued to comfort Stephanie. "We'll try some new dances, keep practicing the synchronization process, and in a few years… who knows." For a moment, Stephanie smiled at her guardians' comforting words. Until, Quartz looked down at his hands and started to speak about statistics. "I wonder, though, if Stephanie's _body_ is even _capable_ of fusion. Fusion is the ultimate connection between _Gems_ … but Stephanie is half _human_. She's organic."

"Yeah," Carnelian rubbed his chin in slight agreement, "I'd hate for the fusion to make Stephanie splatter all over the place."

"Well, regardless," Onyx stepped forward and placed a hand on Stephanie's shoulder, "I think that Stephanie can do it."

"Did you check with your future vision, Onyx?"

"I don't _need_ future vision to have faith in you, Stephanie." Onyx smiled as he patted the young half-Gem on her head.

Later, Ronnie decided to take Stephanie down to the beach and help clear her mind. As the sun began to lower over the horizon, Ronnie noticed how sad Stephanie looked. She had once told him about how the other Gems used to compare her to her dad, which made her feel guilty for her dad's absence. Luckily, Ronnie came up with an idea.

"Could you get them to write out the steps?"

"No, I don't think it's just about the dancing." Stephanie looked at her friend as she motioned with her hands. "When they fuse, their gems glow and their bodies kinda… _faze into_ each other. I'm not sure I can even _do that_."

"Well, if it makes you feel any _better_ , I'm impressed that you could dance with them _at all_. I could _never_ do that."

"Huh," Stephanie looked back at her friend, "What do you mean?"

"I've… never danced with _anyone_ before…" Ronnie rubbed his arm out of embarrassment.

"Really?" Stephanie was completely shocked.

"Yeah," Ronnie went on, "at my old school, there was this dance, and I was really excited about it, but I just couldn't bring myself to _go_. I just couldn't stand the thought of everybody _staring_ at me…"

"Well, no one's staring at you _right now_." Stephanie looked at her friend with wide, starry eyes.

"Um, _you are_." Ronnie stepped back a little out of discomfort.

"Oh," Stephanie blushed, "uh, hang on a second." Stephanie reached into her pocket to get her phone. She set it on the sand as it started to play a lively dance song. "So, what I meant was; come dance with me…"

Ronnie hesitated at first, but he finally took Stephanie's hand. To his surprise, she pulled him closer to her, and they both began to move their feet to the sound of the music. In no time at all, they began to dance their own way, running around the beach and waving their limbs in different ways. Suddenly, Stephanie bumped into Ronnie and she fell on her back. Ronnie went over to help her up, but then he tripped as well, extending his arms so that he wouldn't fall on Stephanie. The two teenagers soon found themselves inches apart. They both laughed and blushed as they closed their eyes, not noticing the flash of red light surround both of them.

Something felt different. As they opened their eyes they suddenly felt as if there was a second entity with them. Looking down, they noticed something very peculiar.

"Huh…? Why are my-? Why is… your sandal… too small for my- your- our… feet?" They stood up slowly, finding it almost hard to walk. They both felt the presence of someone else, but they couldn't see anyone. Finally, they reached a puddle of water, and looked at their reflection. But to their shock, what they saw was a tall, muscular man with tanned skin and curly hair, dressed in blue jeans and a black long-sleeve with a red short-sleeve over it.

"Stephanie? Ronnie!" Stephanie's mind instantly understood what had happened. "I-I _did it!_ You did it? Wait, this- this is- no! This is… _great!_ Ha! Oh, my… _gosh_ look at us now! No, look at _me_ now…" their shared body stood up straight and looked over the horizon as it placed its hands on its waist. "I'm a _fusion_ …"

The fusion began to gleefully run around the beach until it tripped over a rock and landed flat on its face. After it spit the sand out of its mouth, it remembered something important. "I _must_ show _everyone_ …"

 **A few minutes later…**

The fusion was proudly standing before three shocked Rebel Gems. Carnelian leaned close with his mouth agape as he sat on the kitchen counter. Quartz had his hands shaking as he tried to process what he saw. Yet Onyx was the most surprised; he leaned against the wall to balance himself as he clenched his chest, and his jaw fell closer to the ground as three eyebrows rose higher over his visor.

"Pretty cool, right?" the fusion smiled widely.

"She- she _fused_ …?" Quartz finally spoke. "With her friend, Ronnie?"

"Hahaha! Quartz, Quartz, look at Onyx…!" Carnelian giggled uncontrollably as he pointed the white Gem towards their de facto leader. Onyx was now grinning from ear-to-ear as he continued to marvel at the new fusion.

"This is… _unpredictable_." Quartz circled around the fusion with a worried expression, "A Gem fusing with a _human being?_ It- it's _impossible!_ Or, at the very least, _inappropriate_ …"

"Wow," Carnelian felt differently as he was still in awe at the fusion's appearance. "You two look _great_ together! So, how does it _feel_ , Stephanie…? Ronnie…? _Stephonnie?!_ "

"It feels _amazing!_ " the newly-named fusion kept smiling.

"Yes, well," Quartz held up a finger as he smiled nervously, "I'm glad you're enjoying this, but you two should un-fuse this instant."

"Wait, _what?!_ " Stephonnie frowned. "Quartz, _you_ were the one who was worried that Stephanie wouldn't even be able to do this. Aren't you _proud_ of her?"

"Of-of _course_ , I am!" Quartz anxiety began to grow as he felt he wasn't winning the argument. "B-but you… fusion is… it's not for… Onyx, help me _out_ here!"

"Stephonnie…" Onyx straightened himself as he stepped in front of the new fusion. Quartz and Carnelian stepped back to give them some room for their conversation. "Listen to me," Onyx placed both of his hands on Stephonnie's shoulders, "no matter what anyone thinks of this, no matter what anyone says, _this_ is the truth: you are not _two people_ , and you are not _one person_. You… are an _experience!_ And it's up to _you_ to make sure that you're a _good_ experience. Now… Go. Have. _**FUN!**_ "

At the sight of Onyx's wide, toothy grin, Stephonnie gave an eager nod and ran out the door to the beach. Onyx was beaming with pride as he saw the young fusion leap into the air, performing cartwheels and energetic leaps. Finally, Stephanie and Ronnie un-fused when they realized it was time for Ronnie to go home.

"That was… that was really _fun_." Ronnie smiled.

"Well, magic stuff is pretty common around here," Stephanie bragged as she rubbed her knuckles against her chest. "But I guess the fusion was pretty fun."

"I was talking about when we _danced_."

"Oh… yeah, that was _really_ fun…" Stephanie and Ronnie both blushed. Stephanie could tell that Ronnie did hold feelings for her now, just as she did him. As they finally gave their final good-bye, the two teenagers went to their respective homes. When Stephanie went to bed, Quartz walked up to Onyx.

"Onyx, all I'm saying is that not all fusions are _good_. Let's not forget-"

"Do not. Bring up. Beryl." Onyx pointed an angry finger in Quartz's face and walked towards his room.

"Did I _say_ anything about Beryl?"

"Nice _try_."

"I didn't _say_ anything about Beryl!"

* * *

 **Next: On the Run!**


	7. Quartz vs Carnelian

**Chapter 7: The Truth About Carnelian**

 **In this chapter: Quartz and Carnelian's rivalry finally comes to a head as Rebel fights Rebel!**

* * *

All was silent on the Homeworld Warp Pad Hub. At one time, it was used by Homeworld soldiers to teleport troops or supplies all over the planet. But due to the intervention of the Rebel Gems, several of the warp pads became damaged beyond repair. To this day, the massive piece of Gem technology remained stationary in the churning waters of the Pacific Ocean; silent, isolated, and inactive.

However, one of the warp pads was still active and connected directly to the Rebels' Temple. In a sudden flash of light, the warp pad activated and four Rebel Gems began to survey the rest of the pads. While it was very unlikely, it was still possible that the pads could come back online and allow troops from Homeworld to come back to Earth. This resulted in bi-yearly check-ups performed by the Rebel Gems. The Gems would manually test the pads for activity, and then Stephanie would mark them "inactive" with glittery stickers.

As the Gems spread out to test the pads, Stephanie followed them around, ready to mark them. Onyx stood on the first pad and concentrated on a location. After a few, short moments, the tall Gem raised his head to look at Stephanie. "Inactive." He said, prompting the teenage Gem to mark the pad with a sticker.

Next, Quartz stood on another pad and copied Onyx's actions. When he deemed his inactive, Stephanie marked it with a sticker. Carnelian back-flipped onto another pad and sighed in boredom as he copied the others. "Inactive… do we seriously have to check _all_ of the pads? They're all _inactive_."

"You _know_ we do, Carnelian." Quartz scolded the short, blue Gem. "We can't risk one of the pads coming online and sending an army of Gems our way."

"Wait, guys," Stephanie pulled the hood down from her raincoat and looked at her three guardians. "Why don't you want to see more of your own kind? Wouldn't that be a _good_ thing?"

The Rebels looked at each other with nervous expressions. How could they tell her without breaking their promise to Margaret? Was there even a way to explain it so that Stephanie would understand?

"Eh… what's the best way to put this?" Quartz rubbed his hands in discomfort before finally looking back at Stephanie. "Stephanie, not _all_ Gems are… necessarily… _good_. The Homeworld Gems did a lot of… _bad things_ to Earth that would have completely ruined it."

For some reason, Carnelian seemed to take offense to Quartz's choice of words. The younger Gem crossed his arms and leaned against one of the walls of the Warp Hub's interior, an action that caught the eye of Stephanie. It was true that Quartz and Carnelian argued a lot, but Stephanie hadn't noticed anything Quartz said that could have offended her blue friend.

Finally, after all of the other warp pads had been checked, Quartz and Onyx went home with Stephanie not far behind. But before the girl could enter the warp pad to head home, she noticed that Carnelian hadn't moved.

"Carnelian?" Stephanie walked over to her guardian and sat down next to him. "Carnelian, aren't you coming back with us?" Carnelian said nothing as he kept up his sour demeanor. "Don't you want to come back home, to the Temple?"

"That's _not_ my home…" Carnelian finally said, grimly.

"Huh?" Stephanie was confused. Normally, Carnelian was a fun-loving goofball, but this attitude was completely unfamiliar to Stephanie. "I don't understand. What do you-? Oh! That's right!" Stephanie snapped her fingers as the realization popped into her head. "I'm sorry, I forgot; you're from _Homeworld_ … wherever that is…"

"That's not my home, _either!_ " Carnelian snapped at the girl.

"Oh, well then… where _are_ you from?"

Suddenly, Carnelian's face lit up as a wide grin spread across his face. "I'll _show_ you." The blue Gem led Stephanie over to the only active warp pad and told her to let him take control. Stephanie watched as Carnelian concentrated on where he wanted the pad to send them. In a flash of light, the two Gems where teleported away to a new destination for Stephanie.

This place was surrounded by two large mountains with large, rounded holes in them. All around the mountains were odd, drill-like machines which appeared to be clawed into the mountains. These machines had a similar design to a large computer in between the two mountains, but the computer appeared to be severely damaged. As she looked around, Stephanie noticed that the trees were limp and lifeless, several animal skeletons were scattered around, and dark clouds blocked out the sun. A chill ran up Stephanie's spin before Carnelian gleefully called for her attention.

"TA-DA!" the blue Gem lifted both of his arms in the air. "Stephanie Topaz Universe… welcome to the _Kindergarten!_ "

"Wait a minute," Stephanie's eyes widened in disbelief. "you mean… _this_ is your home?"

"Yeah! I was made here on _Earth_. Just like you!" Carnelian chuckled and grabbed Stephanie's wrist. "Here, let me show ya around!" While the ominous atmosphere made her feel uncomfortable, Stephanie weakly smiled and followed Carnelian around as he pointed out everything in the Kindergarten.

"Ah… be it _ever_ so humble, there's no place like _home_. Ooh! There's my old _throwing rock!_ And there's the _rock I once kicked in half!_ And, oh! I remember _this guy!_ " Carnelian leapt up onto a giant boulder and patted his hand on it. "This was my _climbing rock!_ Ah, good times… _good times_."

"So, how _long_ did you live here?" Stephanie's anxiety began to increase as the dark atmosphere was getting to her.

"Uh… for a _while_ , I guess. At least until I ran into your dad and the others. Oh, hey! Check it out!" Carnelian jumped off the rock and landed right next to a four-foot-tall crevice in the mountain side. "Isn't it cool?! It's the _hole_ I came out of!"

"What?!"

"It's. My. HOLE! Look, it's _me-sized!_ " Carnelian giggled as he casually slid back into the crevice and let out a deep sigh. "Ah, still has that _good_ cave smell."

"Y-you came out of this hole?" Stephanie stepped back to see the rest of the mountain. Hundreds of holes in different shapes and sizes seemed to completely dominate the mountain. Stephanie nervously gulped. "So… what came out of the _other_ holes?"

" _There_ you are!" Stephanie turned around to see Quartz running over to her with an expression of worry and anger.

"Great…" Carnelian muttered as he crawled out of the hole. "The _fun police_."

"Are you alright? Oh, nebula help me, I was _so worried!_ Onyx said that you might be here, but I didn't want to believe him!" After insuring Stephanie's safety, Quartz turned to the blue Gem who crossed his arms. "Carnelian… what the nova were you _thinking_ bringing Stephanie to the… _Kindergarten?_ "

"I don't know…" Carnelian angrily kicked a pebble away. "We were in the _neighborhood_."

"Quartz?" Stephanie tugged on the back of Quartz's tunic, earning her his attention. "Was Carnelian _really_ made here?"

"What did you tell her?!" Quartz's eyes will filled with rage as he went back to the blue Gem.

"What…?" Carnelian's eyebrows knitted together as he face his fellow Rebel. "You mean about the… _bad thing?_ How this _bad place_ is where _bad Gems_ came to grow _more bad Gems?_ Is _that_ what you're _talking about?!_ "

"They _grew_ Gems here?" Stephanie was confused as Carnelian moved closer to her.

"Yeah! But don't _worry_ , Stephanie, we _won!_ " Carnelian's eyebrows remained in their angry position as he plastered a wicked smile on his face.

"Carnelian, stop! She's not ready!" Quartz tried to intervene, but was unsuccessful.

"See, the Rebels came and chased everybody _away!_ "

"Carnelian-!"

"And we _shut this place down_ so that Earth would be safe from ugly, deformed, evil parasites like _me!_ "

"CARNELIAN! That's _enough!_ " Quartz finally stepped in between the two Gems. Carnelian walked away while Quartz tried to comfort the teenage Gem. "Stephanie, I'm so _sorry_. I _never_ wanted you to have to see this _horrible_ place."

"Then why don't you just _leave?!_ " Carnelian summoned his fail and wrapped it around Quartz. Before he knew it, the white Gem was thrown away to the other side of the Kindergarten. Quartz stood up quickly and summoned his quarterstaff. Stephanie ran to Carnelian to get him to stop, but he simply tossed her aside.

"Carnelian, don't do this!" Quartz stood in a defensive position. "I don't want to fight you!"

"I wouldn't wanna fight me _either!_ " Carnelian sprinted towards Quartz with an angry yell. The blue Gem suddenly became a deadly, spinning ball intent on running over his ally. Quartz leapt out of the way at the last minute, leaving Carnelian to circle back around for a second chance at hitting him. Quartz aimed his quarterstaff at Carnelian and sent several blasts of concussive energy bolting towards the blue Gem. But Carnelian simply dodged the blasts and violently lashed at Quartz.

The white Gem elegantly dodged each blow before Carnelian finally came close enough. Quartz used his quarterstaff to propel himself over Carnelian and kick him in the head. Carnelian kneeled on the ground, seemingly defeated.

"Carnelian, _stop_ this…" Quartz breathed heavily. "You _can't_ beat me."

"I… don't… _care!_ " Carnelian leapt up and wrapped his flail around the white Gem's quarterstaff.

"Guys, please, stop!" Stephanie ran over to her guardians, hoping to quell their rage.

"I'm _not_ gonna let you stand there and remind me of everything _**I**_ _**HATE ABOUT MYSELF!**_ " Carnelian flicked his wrists, sending a jolt of energy through his flail and sending Quartz flying into one of the drill machines. When he landed on the ground, Quartz was shocked to see tears dripping from Carnelian's chin. "I never _asked_ for it to be like this! I never asked for you to hate me! I never asked to be made as one of them! I never asked to be _made!_ "

"Carnelian…" Quartz finally understood Carnelian's anger.

"Carnelian, please, stop this!" Stephanie ran in between the two Gems with tears running down her face. "I can't stand to see the two of you _fighting_ like this!"

A sudden creaking noise drew the attention of the three Gems. The drill machine Quartz had been thrown into was falling over. Instinctively, Stephanie summoned her shield and held it over herself and Quartz, but Carnelian stepped away from both of them.

"Carnelian, what are you doing?! Carnelian! Carnelian! Carnelian!" Stephanie called out to the blue Gem as he sprinted away. The machine broke in half after hitting Stephanie's shield, leaving the two Rebels unharmed. As the dust settled, Stephanie searched for the Gem she considered her brother, with Quartz closely behind her. Finally, the teenage girl found Carnelian, sobbing in his hole as he held himself in a fetal position.

"Carnelian?"

"Go away! I'm _bad_ and you shouldn't be around me!"

"What? That's ridiculous!" Stephanie had no idea why Carnelian would think she wouldn't be safe with him after fifteen years. "Look, I don't really understand what any of this means, but-"

"Yeah, you _don't_ ," Carnelian tearfully interrupted, "because if you _did_ you wouldn't be _talking_ to me…"

"Quartz, get in here." Stephanie pointed at the white Gem.

"But, I-"

" _I_ don't understand this. _You_ _do_. _You_ have to talk to him."

Quartz hesitated at first, but he soon found himself squatting down so that he could squeeze through. When he finally reached his comrade, Quartz crossed his fingers, trying to think of what to say. "Carnelian…?" The blue Gem said nothing, so Quartz tried again. "Carnelian, I… I had _no idea_ that you've been upset about this."

" _What!?_ " Carnelian turned around angrily. You had _no idea?!_ _Excuse me!?_ This is, like, my _entire existence!_ You, Onyx, and even Crimson! You all hate everything about this place! You wanna pretend that none of this _ever_ happened! You think I'm just a _big mistake!_ "

"What!? No, no, Carnelian, no! _You're not_ the mistake. You're just the _byproduct_ of a… big mistake…" Quartz cupped his hands over his mouth when he realized what he had said. He could see that he was not helping the situation. "No! That's not what I… I just never thought of _this place_ as _you!_ _None of this is your fault!_ You didn't build this place! You didn't try to drain Earth of its life-force! I… I… I'm _sorry_ , Carnelian… I never wanted you to think that I _hate_ you."

Quartz placed a hand on Carnelian's shoulder, prompting the blue Gem to slightly turn his head. Stephanie continued to survey the conversation, hoping that it wouldn't end in another fight.

"The truth is…" Quartz's eyes started to tear up as he continued. "If I ever seem _hard_ on you, it's because…because I'm _jealous_ of you. No matter how _hard_ I try to be an independent, normal Gem… I'm just a _quartz_. I'm _useless_ on my own. A dime a dozen. I _need_ someone to tell me what to do. But, _you_ …? You're _more_ than just your own Gem. You're the _one good thing_ that ever came out of this mess. I always thought you'd be _proud_ of that."

Stephanie backed away as Quartz helped Carnelian out of the hole. Wiping his tears away, Carnelian hugged Quartz tightly. At first, Quartz was surprised by such a gesture, but he fondly conceded and returned the hug. Stephanie held hands with her guardians as they stepped onto the warp pad.

"Rebel Gems forever!" Stephanie pumped her fist in the air, earning a smile from Quartz and Carnelian. "Now let's go home so I can go to bed." The warp pad teleported the Gems away, leaving the Kindergarten empty and silent once again.

* * *

 **Next: Warp Tour!**


	8. There's Something in the Warp!

**Chapter 8: Warp Tour**

 **I'm starting an "Ask Rebel Gems" thing with this chapter. Ask any of the Rebel Gems any question you like in your reviews and they will answer them.**

* * *

"Ah-Choo!" Stephanie sneezed as she quickly moved out of the hay field. Despite being a Gem warrior, she was still half-human. As such, she was vulnerable to hay fever. Onyx teleported the corrupted Gem to the temple as Quartz and Carnelian followed close behind.

"I can't believe how _flawlessly_ that went!" Quartz smiled brightly as they headed for the warp pad.

"That was pretty cool how you hit it with your quarterstaff," Carnelian complimented, "and it went, like, zing-ping-boosh!"

"And the way you were circling around it was quite _impressive_ ," Quartz replied, "almost as if it were _strategy_."

Ever since their confrontation in the Kindergarten, Quartz and Carnelian had been trying to improve their friendship. They realized that neither of them needed to let their upbringings define them, so long as they had friends to support them. As a matter of fact, the less they argued with each other, the more they realized what a great team they made.

As the four Rebels stepped onto the warp pad, Stephanie let out another sneeze. Quartz rushed behind Onyx out of fear. He wanted to be a good brother, but he was still appalled by human diseases. "Stephanie! How many times must I _tell_ you to sneeze into your _elbow!?_ "

"I'm sorry, Quartz." Stephanie apologized as Onyx activated the warp pad. As they floated through the warp stream, Stephanie felt one more sneeze coming. She lifted her arm, but it was too late; the strength of the sneeze knocked her back so hard, her head stuck out of the stream. Stephanie's eyes were filled with stars as she gazed out into the cold, dark pocket dimension that all warp streams go through. Suddenly, Stephanie spotted another warp stream activate, and gasped as she saw a shadow pass through it.

"Stephanie!" Onyx pulled Stephanie's head back into the stream and brushed a thin layer of frost off of her face. "You need to stay _inside_ of the warp stream! It's cold out there, and there isn't much oxygen."

"Guys, I saw another warp stream activate!" all three Gems looked down at her with surprised expressions. "And it looked like there was something _in_ it!"

"Well, Stephanie, that's just not possible." Quartz explained. By this time, the Gems had arrived back at the Temple. "We are the only ones capable of using the warp pads. Your hay fever must be making you hallucinate."

"No! I really _did_ see something!" Stephanie turned to the leader of the Rebels. "Onyx, use your future vision! It'll tell you that I'm telling the truth!"

"Stephanie," Onyx placed a hand on the teenage Gem's shoulder, "to use my future vision, I have to _focus_ on what I want to see. I can't do that if I don't know what you saw looked like."

Stephanie tried to describe the mysterious object, but she was having trouble remembering its appearance. Her eyes had been watery from the hay fever, causing her vision to blur when she spotted the object. In truth, all she saw was a menacing silhouette passing through the warp stream. "I-I don't _know_ …"

"Look, let's just _calm down_ ," Quartz tried to keep everything under control. "Listen, Onyx, you _know_ that I know more about Homeworld technology than anyone else on this planet. Stephanie didn't see anything."

"Yes, I _did!_ " Stephanie stomped her foot on the ground. "I know that I saw something activate a warp!"

And _I_ know that you _didn't_ , Stephanie." Quartz crossed his arms. " _We're_ the only ones on Earth who can even _activate_ the warp pads."

"Well… maybe it came from _space!_ Did you ever think of _that?_ "

"I… don't appreciate your _tone_."

"Onyx, you _have_ to believe me! I'm just trying to look out for you guys!" Stephanie looked up to her guardian as she pleaded her case.

"Hmm, well, Quartz isn't wrong about his knowledge of the warp pads…" Onyx rubbed his chin, not noticing the smug grin plastered on Quartz's face. "But, if it'll make you _feel better_ , I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go and check the Galaxy Warp."

"Are you _serious!?_ " Quartz frowned at his leader's words.

"It's _important_ to make Stephanie feel secure, Quartz."

"Okay, _fine_ …" Quartz shrugged sarcastically. "You people want to go _check?_ We'll _check_." When the four Rebels were back on the pad, Quartz activated the stream. In an instant, they arrived back at the massive Warp Hub in the Pacific Ocean. Quartz walked over to the largest pad and directed everyone's attention towards him. " _This_ is the Homeworld Warp Pad. It is the only connection between this world and Homeworld. But, _wait_ …" The white Gem pretended to gasp. "The pad is _broken!_ Marked _inactive_ by your own stickers, Stephanie!"

"Geez, Quartz, you don't have to be a douche about it." Carnelian snorted obnoxiously. "But, he _is_ right. As _usual_. You get used to it."

"Now, can we _please_ go home? We've wasted enough time with this." Quartz was growing more and more impatient.

"It was _not_ a waste of time." Onyx lightly nudged Quartz on the shoulder. "Like I said; it was important to help Stephanie feel secure."

After hearing Onyx's reasoning, Quartz lightened up a little. He exhaled calmly and smiled as he faced his leader. "You're _right_. Stephanie feels much more _secure_ now."

"Stephanie does _not_ feel secure!" The teenager snapped. Before Onyx and Carnelian knew it, Quartz and Stephanie were fighting. Both of them were trying to prove their case. "Why don't you ever _listen_ to me, Quartz? I'm a Rebel Gem, too!"

"No, you're _not_ , Stephanie! You're just a _child_ who doesn't know what she's talking about!"

Stephanie tried her best to fight back tears. All her fears had just been proven by Quartz's sentence: the Rebels didn't trust her. Strong emotions began to rush through her body as she opened her mouth to speak, but she now also felt emptiness in her soul that prevented her from drawing the argument out any further.

"QUARTZ!" Onyx slapped the white Gem upside the head. In all the years he had known his comrade, Onyx knew that Quartz was egotistical and prideful, but he never thought he would actually say such a thing. He moved over to the teenage girl and bathed her in the gray light from his gemstones. "C'mon, Stephanie, although I don't approve of his _distasteful words_ , Quartz is right; there's nothing here. Let's get you home and into bed."

After seeing Stephanie's saddened face, Quartz began to realize what he had done. But he felt little guilt. He had to show the others that they were just being paranoid, even if it meant saying a few harsh words.

Back at the Temple, Onyx led Quartz to the gymnasium so that they could discuss Quartz's behavior. Carnelian noticed Stephanie was still sitting on the warp pad.

"Hey, kiddo," the blue Gem tried to comfort his friend, "don't let what Quartz said get you down. You're still fun to have around, even if you're _not_ a real Rebel." Stephanie didn't say anything. She just sat silently as she stared down, repeating Quartz's words in her head. Carnelian began to grow a little annoyed; he never took Stephanie for a downer. "Well, I'm going to my room. We can start hanging out again when you stop being such a _sad sack_."

Stephanie blinked as the blue light from Carnelian's room let him enter his room. Eventually, she saw the futility in waiting for something to happen. "Alright! I admit it!" She lifted her arms in frustration. "I was wrong! Nothing's gonna come through the warp pad!"

 _ **CRASH!**_

Stephanie nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound. Looking up, she saw that something had torn a hole through the roof. Her eyes were wide as her glance slowly fell down upon a small, metallic sphere lodged in the floorboards. The sphere began to rotate until four bladed legs lifted it up and carried it around the room. Stephanie began to laugh; she was right!

"I knew it!" She cheered as she stepped in front of the sphere. " _You_ were the thing in the warp stream!" Stephanie tried to pick the sphere up, but one of its legs slashed at her hand, leaving a small cut. When she dropped it, it ran to the warp pad, and a low hum crept through the air. "Oh, no, you _don't!_ " Stephanie grabbed the sphere again as they were both lifted into the air by the warp stream. "Onyx! Quartz! Carnelian!" Stephanie called out for her guardians, but her voice was silenced by the instant teleportation of the warp pad.

"Where are you taking me?!" The girl asked as she tightly held onto the sphere. Suddenly, Stephanie looked around to see more metallic spheres enter from outside of the warp stream. They began to crowd her out, pushing her closer and closer to the edge of the warp stream. She tried to fight back, but they had her outnumbered. Finally, Stephanie found herself floating outside in the empty, black void she saw earlier.

Fear began to flood her entire being as the air became thinner with every breath. The temperatures began to drop at an alarming rate, sending a painful chill around Stephanie's body. All of her strength was quickly fleeing from her as she looked down to see that the sphere was still in her hands. For a moment, she smiled, knowing that she was right all along. But she soon realized that it didn't matter anymore. _Yeah, I was right_. She thought to herself. _And now… I'm gonna die… a tired… frozen… sad… nobody_.

A bright stream of light shot up behind Stephanie, prompting her to open her eyes. Two strong arms reached out and pulled her into another warp stream. Stephanie gasped loudly, taking in the fresh oxygen as she buried her sobbing face into Onyx's chest. She let go of the sphere to wrap her arms around Onyx's waist as he tried to calm her down.

"Take _deep_ breaths." Onyx said as he grabbed the sphere. "So, _this_ is what you saw."

"Who _cares_ about that?" Stephanie wept as she looked up at her guardian.

" _I_ do!" Onyx reached under his visor to wipe away the tears that stung all three of his own eyes. "You were trying to look out for us! And we- _I_ -didn't trust you! I should've _listened_ to you! Your thoughts and your words matter to me as much as those of Quartz and Carnelian. After all…" Onyx softly smiled as he removed his visor to gaze down at the girl. "You're a Rebel Gem, _too_."

Stephanie smiled brightly. The hurtful emotional trauma she suffered had been washed away by Onyx's calm, reassuring words.

"Stephanie!" Stephanie turned around to see Quartz and Carnelian rise into the stream to meet her. Quartz's eyes were filled with worry. "Are you _alright!?_ Carnelian said he heard the warp pad activate and Onyx said he saw you floating outside the stream and-!" Quartz's prattling ceased when he noticed the shining sphere in Onyx's hand. "Uh… what is _that?_ "

" _This_ … is what Stephanie saw in the warp stream." Onyx calmly placed his visor back over his eyes.

"What?! I-I was… _wrong?_ Then… Stephanie was telling the _truth?_ "

"And _you_ didn't believe her!" Carnelian angrily shoved Quartz.

"Wha-?! _You_ didn't believe her, _either!_ "

"Yeah? Well, you didn't believe her, _first!_ "

"Stop." Onyx held up his left palm, earning his comrades' attention. " _None_ of us are blameless. We are a _team_. Stephanie is our _equal_. And I'll be _shattered_ before I let anyone doubt her opinion again. Whether it be _me,_ or the two of you _stubborn agates_."

Quartz and Carnelian looked at each other with guilty expressions as the four Gems continued through the warp stream. Onyx's words were harsh, but true; neither of them had trusted Stephanie, and it might have had cost them dearly. "Y-you're _right_ , Onyx." Quartz stammered. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, me too." Carnelian agreed as he rubbed his arm in discomfort.

" _I'm_ not the one you should be apologizing to…" Onyx crossed his arms and levitated out of the way. Now all that Quartz and Carnelian could see was the teenage girl they had thought too little of.

"We're _sorry_ , Stephanie…" the two Rebels said in unison.

"Never mind that!" Stephanie said as she pointed at the struggling sphere in Onyx's grasp. "This time there were a lot _more_ of those things! And it looked like they were all going to the same place!"

With a quick thought, Onyx focused his future vision to pinpoint their next destination. In an instant, the Rebels were brought back to the Galaxy Warp. Much to their horror, there were several other metallic spheres spraying one of the warp pads with a green substance.

"What are they doing to the Homeworld Warp Pad?!" Quartz yelped. Yet his question was quickly answered once the spheres crept away from the pad. The green substance began to harden, until it finally cracked and fell away. The Homeworld Warp Pad was now completely repaired.

"They… fixed it?!" Carnelian felt a chill run up his spine.

"What does _that_ mean?" Stephanie asked.

"Uh-!" Quartz lifted a finger, but he couldn't come up with an answer. "I… don't know…"

Suddenly, the Homeworld Warp Pad began to brightly light up. Acting quickly, Onyx reached out with his mind to lift everyone up, and out of the way. Concealing themselves in the rafters of the Hub, the four Rebels looked down at the Pad as the light finally dimmed down. There, standing on the Homeworld Warp Pad, was another Gem.

This Gem's face showed no emotion as his gaze spread across the perimeter. He wore slick, black armor that covered most of his body, a green, transparent visor over his green eyes, and a green, triangular helmet, and a gray diamond-shaped emblem on his chest. Tapping the green gemstone on his forehead, two robotic claws stretched out from his back and carried him down from the Pad.

"Who is _that?_ " Quartz whispered.

"No idea." Onyx shrugged nervously.

"Log date: 7 11 3. This is Zircon. With the help of my flask robots, I have successfully repaired and reactivated the Homeworld Warp Pad leading to abandoned Homeworld colony, Earth."

"Zircon." Stephanie whispered as she turned to face the Gems. "He said his name is _Zircon_." Carnelian and Quartz each placed a hand over Stephanie's mouth to silence her.

"Now that transportation is of no issue, it should be no trouble to bring the army here to reactivate the Kindergarten." After summoning a screen from his palm, Zircon pressed several buttons, reactivating the Warp. In another flash of light, seven blue Gems appeared and saluted their green leader. But as Zircon glanced back down, he noticed something unusual about the Warp Pad. Kneeling down, he peeled off some sort of sparkling, sticky symbol. "Be on guard, this site may have been… _compromised_."

"You need to leave, _right now!_ " Zircon and his troops turned around to see the four Rebel Gems.

"What?! Gray Diamond never said that there were any other Gems on this planet!"

"That's because _we're_ the ones who drove him off!" Quartz screamed in a righteous fury.

"What!? Wait a minute… you mean to tell me those old veterans were telling the _truth!?_ You're the ones who abandoned the Diamond Hierarchy? _This_ is the lowly planet you fought for? _This_ is your bizarre icon!?" Zircon looked at the blue soldiers as the shrugged in confusion. "What are you _waiting for_ , you clods?! Shatter them!"

The blue soldiers reached behind their backs and pulled laser rifles out of their gemstones. Zircon reached into his own gemstone and pulled out a similar rifle. Acting quickly, Stephanie formed a bubble shield around her guardians and led them behind a pillar.

"Anyone have any ideas?" Quartz was shaking from terror as the Homeworld Gems pelted their temporary haven with laser blasts.

"Jump into the ocean and get it over with? Carnelian shrugged, trying to hide his own crippling fear.

"Stephanie, let me out of the bubble." Onyx tilted his visor.

"What? Onyx, you can't fight them by yourself!"

"If they didn't know of our own _existence_ , I'm willing to bet that my next move will throw them off guard. _Trust me_ , Stephanie." The teenage girl hesitated, not wanting to lose her guardian, but she finally let Onyx out of her bubble shield.

Taking a deep breath, Onyx stepped out from behind the pillar and made his way towards the Homeworld Gems. Much to their surprise, the tall gray Gem simply tilted his head out of the way to avoid their blasts. Stephanie and the others watched in awe as Zircon ordered his men to cease fire. Onyx raised his hands, revealing the bright gray glow of his own gemstones as he elegantly summoned his dual flyssa swords. The Homeworld Gems stumbled backwards as Onyx whipped his swords through the air and pointed them, menacingly, at his foes.

"All CBLTs," Zircon's voice cracked as he fearfully pointed in Onyx's direction, "Focus your fire on… on… on the Visionary!"

Before the blue Homeworld troops had time to respond, Onyx leapt into the air and sliced two of the soldiers in half. Next he used his telekinesis to slam four other soldiers into each other. Finally, he reached out to grasp the gemstone of the last soldier standing. The seven soldiers retreated into their gemstones, leaving Onyx free to bubble all of them and teleport them to the Temple. Zircon backed up until he tripped onto the Warp Pad.

"You can't _do_ this! I'm _reporting_ you!" Zircon activated the Homeworld Warp Pad, teleporting himself back to wherever he came from. For a moment, Onyx stood in silence, trying to reflect on what had just happened.

"Their coming back!" Quartz yelped as he grabbed his head. "I can't do this! Not _again!_ "

"We're _dead!_ We are _so dead!_ " Carnelian was equally worried.

"Was that another Gem? What was he doing here, Onyx…? Onyx?" Stephanie watched nervously as her gray guardian walked closer to the Homeworld Warp Pad.

"It _doesn't matter_ …" Onyx slammed his swords together over his head, fusing them into a much larger sword. Onyx brought the sword down with a powerful blow, causing the Homeworld Warp Pad to shatter once again. "He's never. Coming. Back."

* * *

 **Next: The Return/Jailbreak!**


	9. The Return or Jail Break!

**Chapter 9: The Return/Jailbreak!**

 **You have no idea how long I have been waiting to write this chapter! This will be my longest chapter yet! Warning, this chapter contains reference material from Star Wars: The Force Awakens! If you haven't seen that movie yet… WHY AM I EVEN TALKING TO YOU!?**

* * *

Stephanie's mind flooded with nightmares as she lay in bed. Nightmares of her guardians being hurt by the terrifying Homeworld Gems they had seen at the Warp just yesterday. She feared that they may come back to finish the job, shattering their gemstones and destroying the earth.

Suddenly, Stephanie was brought out of her nightmare by the sound of Quartz's voice.

"Stephanie! Wake up!" the white Gem had a worried expression on his face as he shook the teenage girl back to consciousness. "They're here!"

"Who's here?" Stephanie rubbed her eyes with an annoyed expression.

"The Homeworld Gems." Stephanie's eyes widened, her nightmare was becoming a reality. "Get dressed and meet the rest of us outside."

Outside of the temple, Beach City's residents were in a chaotic panic. Everyone was screaming in terror as they rushed to get their families out of town as quickly as possible. The local police officers were trying their best to keep everyone calm, setting up escort patrols and directing everyone to the safest route to the next city. While Onyx spoke with the police chief, Stephanie finally turned around to see the source of the city's panic.

Hovering over the ocean, and getting closer, was a large spaceship. The spaceship resembled an Egyptian pyramid as it drew closer to the shore. Stephanie was terrified, but she knew her place was beside the others to help fight off the invaders.

"Ready to go, sweetie" Stephanie turned to see her mother. Margaret was packing up suitcases into her van, one of which had Stephanie's name on the tag.

"What?" Stephanie felt hurt. If it wasn't for her, the Gems wouldn't even know that an invasion was coming. Now they just expected her to run away? "Guys! I need to stay and help you!"

"Who wants to tell her?" Margret sorrowfully looked at Quartz. The tall Gem covered his mouth as tears began to well up in his eyes. He looked at Carnelian, but the shorter Gem just crossed his and turned away. Finally, Onyx kneeled down before Stephanie and spoke in his calm, reassuring voice.

"Stephanie, I know you think that we don't trust you. I know that more often than not we've treated you like a human child. But the truth is… we _depend_ on you. Your voice _inspires_ us. _Binds_ us. Reminds us _why_ we chose to forsake Homeworld and protect _this_ world. You _must_ be that voice for your _city_ , now. Watch over them, keep them safe. It is your destiny."

"… I won't let you down." Stephanie tearfully hugged her guardian. After a brief goodbye with Quartz and Carnelian, Stephanie climbed into Margaret's van, and they left with the rest of the escort. The three Rebels smiled as they waved goodbye, but their expressions changed once the van was out of sight. Onyx clenched his fists, cursing himself for never telling Stephanie the truth about himself. Quartz's lips quivered as he finally allowed tears of regret to roll down his cheeks. Carnelian had to sit down from the exhaustion his guilt had been inflicting on him the entire time.

"At least she'll be _safe_ …" Onyx took a deep breath. "Alright, let's get ready." The three Rebels walked back over to the small police force that had stayed behind to help.

* * *

 **Meanwhile, aboard the Homeworld Spaceship:**

Zircon looked upon the two commanding officers in charge of his invasion. After reporting to Gray Diamond about the disastrous confrontation with the Rebel Gems, he was given a platoon and two officers to assist him on his mission.

The first officer stood almost eight feet tall, with orange skin and an orange gemstone where his left eye should have been. A yellow suit with a gray diamond emblem covered his entire body as he stood upright, surveying the CBLTs placed under his command. The orange Gem's muscles tensed as he looked in contempt at the miserable hunk of rock he had fought on once before. This was Spinel, a veteran of the first war against the Rebel Gems, who was often very bitter about the war's outcome.

The second officer was a slender, six-foot tall Gem with a black gemstone on his right palm. This Gem wore dark robes to match his black skin, with a hood concealing much of his face. This was Black Jade, a personal assassin for the Diamond Hierarchy, hunting down any Gems that strayed away from the Diamonds' command. Nothing was known about him, only that he worshiped the most powerful Gem in history; Black Beryl.

"Listen up!" Spinel stomped his boot hard onto the ground, earning the attention of his CBLTs. "While I will admit that the dominant race on this planet is nothing more than a bunch of misguided fools, we are dealing with Crimson Topaz's Rebellion! Expect severe resistance! But be _warned_ … you are not to _kill_ any of them. Simply destroy their physical forms, and transport their gemstones into their cells with those _other_ Rebels we caught back in the Andromeda System. We are to save the privilege of shattering them to our lords and masters; the Diamonds. Am I clear?" The CBLTs saluted their leader. Spinel dismissed them, and they all prepared for deployment.

But what no one noticed was that one of the CBLTs shivered with fear. Normally, CBLTs were given immediate programming to make them completely loyal to the Diamonds once they emerged from their Kindergartens, but this CBLT was different. His specific designation was CBLT 3298, and while he was drafted into the Homeworld army, the urgency of this mission left him without any programming. All he knew was that he belonged to the Diamonds, but he didn't like that. He was afraid for his life, he had never been in a fight before, nor had he taken a life before. But, his fears wouldn't matter to anyone else; they only saw him as cannon fodder.

Suddenly, a red light flashed in front of all the CBLTs, prompting them to summon the laser rifles from the blue gemstones on their backs. CBLT 3298 steadied himself as he prepared to exit the ship with the rest of his platoon. But, nothing could prepare him for what would come next.

* * *

 **Route 67. From Beach City to Fields City.**

Stephanie adjusted the rearview mirror so that she could see Homeworld's spaceship. At the beginning of the drive, she was worried for her guardians, fearful that her nightmare would become reality. But as she looked back at her home from afar, she remembered that her guardians were kickass warriors who faced danger every day. She had every confidence that they'd be safe.

However, Margaret didn't appear to share her optimistic viewpoint. Her hands were tightly clenched onto the steering wheel as beads of nervous sweat rolled down her face. Stephanie noticed her mother's fear and tried to comfort her.

"Think _positive_ , mom…" Stephanie placed a hand on her mother's shoulder. "Maybe when Zircon gets to Earth, he'll see how cool all the people are, and he won't wanna hurt anyone."

"Just like your father…" Margaret smiled softly at her daughter's comment. But Margaret knew the truth about Homeworld Gems from what Crimson had told her. "But, sweetie, these Gems aren't _like_ your father. They're not like _Onyx_ , or _Quartz_ , or _Carnelian_ … they don't _care_ about Earth. I mean they didn't the _first time_ that they…" Margaret's eyes widened as she realized what she had almost said. But this had not gone unnoticed by Stephanie.

"First time they _what?_ " the teenage Gem cocked a curious eyebrow as her mother became visually nervous.

"I mean, c'mon, it was a _long time ago_. It's not like I was _there_." Margaret tugged at the collar of her tie-dye shirt as she nervously gulped. Stephanie could tell that she felt guilty about something. "I-I'm _sorry_ I never told you this, Stephanie, I-I just didn't want you to think of your father or the others like that."

"Like _what?_ " Stephanie became nervous herself, she wanted to know what her mother was talking about, but Margaret continued to bite her tongue. Finally, Stephanie slammed her fist on the van's dashboard. "Mom, like _what?!_ "

"Like _aliens_ , Stephanie! Aliens who _invaded Earth!_ " Margaret couldn't bear the guilt anymore, and she finally confessed.

"What?!" Stephanie's eyes were as wide as saucers. From what Quartz had taught her, she had always assumed that Homeworld was a magical realm somewhere beyond what humans could see or touch, she never even suspected that it was a different planet entirely.

"A long time ago…" Margaret wiped her brow and began to enlighten her daughter. "The Homeworld Gems came to Earth to set up a new colony. But whatever it was they were doing, it was _killing_ everything else!"

Stephanie suddenly remembered the Kindergarten that Carnelian had shown her not to long ago, how everything around it appeared to be lifeless and limp. "S-so, dad formed the Rebellion and _stopped them!_ " Stephanie stuttered, "That's _good_ , right?"

"Eh, there's no such thing as a _good war_ , sweetie." Margaret sighed regretfully. "A lot of Gems were killed. People, too. In the end, your father was only able to save a handful of his closest friends. _Everyone_ _else_ in the Rebellion had either gone missing or mutated into those monsters their always fighting. If it wasn't for your dad's _shield_ , man, I don't even _know_."

Stephanie clutched the red gemstone in her navel. She knew what she had to do. "Mom, stop the car, I need to go back!"

"What?! Are you crazy!?"

"I have dad's _shield!_ They _need_ me!"

" _I_ need you, too! I lost your father, I can't lose you, too!"

Without a second's thought, Stephanie unlocked her door and did a barrel roll down the hill that the highway was on. Margaret stopped the van and rushed over to her daughter. Stephanie looked at her mother with tears in her eyes.

"Mom, _please!_ I need to help them…" Margaret wiped away her daughter's tears. She smiled weakly as she hugged the girl she had raised for almost sixteen years.

"Okay… just, promise you'll be careful. Or I'm gonna run out of family."

"I will," Stephanie returned her mother's hug before standing back up. "Now, I'm gonna need a way to get back-" Stephanie was cut off by something licking the back of her head. She turned around to see her father's loyal tigers. "Huh, well, that's convenient." Stephanie smiled as she mounted onto Blush.

* * *

 **Ten Minutes Later...**

In no time at all, Stephanie found herself at the outskirts of the Rebels' Temple. As she dismounted, she turned to face her faithful pets. "Blush, Cherry, Dahlia, Ember, you guys _stay here_. If I don't make it back, mom's gonna need a new family." Stephanie rounded to the front of the Temple where she saw the other Rebels along with a squad of policemen awaiting the arrival of the Homeworld Gems.

"Hey, guys!" Stephanie called out, earning a surprised gasp from the Rebels.

"Stephanie! Get out of here!" Quartz cried out in fear. But it was too late, the ship had landed on the shore, and an opening appeared right before them. The policemen pulled out their revolvers and rifles as the Rebel Gems summoned their weapons, keeping Stephanie safely behind them.

"That's _them_ , alright." Zircon motioned to the enemy. "They're the ones who've been causing all the problems."

Spinel stepped forward, surveying the small crowd before him. His eager smile quickly turned into a disappointed scowl. "This is _it?_ " The orange Gem crossed his arms as Black Jade stepped out from behind him. "Where's Crimson Topaz? I'd hoped to meet him… I was looking forward to beating him into the _ground!_ "

Stephanie's eyebrow's knitted together. She was usually very sympathetic, but she certainly didn't like anyone threatening her family. Whoever this Gem was, he was clearly an enemy.

"You called me all the way down here for _this?_ " Spinel went on. "I fought in the first war on this miserable planet. _This_ is all that's left of Topaz's proud Rebellion? Some lost, defective servant drone, a puny, undercooked runt, and some shameful perversion trying to pass as a Visionary?"

"Spinel, this is _serious!_ " Zircon scowled at his escort's arrogance.

"You don't need me for _this_ , Zircon. Just… _blast_ 'em with the ship." Spinel waved his hand in annoyance as he turned around.

"Ugh, _fine_." Zircon activated a screen on his forearm. He pressed a few buttons, which activated a bright green light at the top of the ship.

"Stephanie! Get _out of here!_ " Onyx turned to warn the girl.

"NO!" Stephanie cried in fear.

"I won't let you risk your life!"

"But this is _my home!_ And you're all _my family!_ " A beam of light shot from the spaceship and headed towards the Rebels. Acting on instinct, Stephanie steeled her nerves and leapt in front of her guardians. "I'm a Rebel Gem, _too!_ " The light collided with the Rebels, prompting Spinel to turn around. But much to his shock, the Rebels were alive and well, safely behind a giant red shield.

"That shield…" Spinel gasped, "That _symbol!_ " The orange Gem's gemstone lit up as an orange helmet wrapped around his head.

Stephanie collapsed to the ground, all of her energy had been drained from summoning her largest shield yet. As Spinel raced towards them, the policemen opened fire on the Homeworld Gems. Unfortunately, Black Jade thrust his hand out, stopping the bullets in midair. Spinel took advantage of Jade's assistance, plowing through the policeman like wheat in a field. Next he knocked Quartz and Carnelian back with a single swipe of his arm, and kicking Onyx back with ease.

Spinel stood in front of Stephanie, looking down on her in contempt and disgust. He had begrudgingly respected Topaz's tactics during the war, going so far as to consider him the most admirable foe he had faced. But somehow, his gemstone was now in the possession of a human. Spinel _hated_ humans, they stood in the way of Homeworld's progress, but they were also the reason behind General Topaz's Rebellion. Was it possible that Topaz loved humans so much, he had _become_ one?

"Zircon! Get back to the ship and prepare to take off!" Spinel continued to gaze at Stephanie. "Gray Diamond needs to see this… _thing._ "

Fortunately, Onyx leapt in front of Spinel and pushed him back. Summoning his swords, Onyx rapidly slashed at the Homeworld officer, driving him away from the girl. But Spinel was stronger and faster than Onyx had anticipated, leaving him free to punch Onyx hard in the face, knocking off his visor.

As Onyx staggered back, he saw the black Homeworld Gem walk past Spinel. This Gem radiated with a dark energy that was almost nauseating to Onyx. Yet for some reason, Onyx could feel a familiar connection to the Gem, as if he had known him before.

"Visionary!" Black Jade whipped his robes away, revealing his slender body as his gemstone glowed. Onyx gasped as he saw a long, straight-bladed crossguard emerge from Jade's black gemstone. "FACE ME!"

Onyx rushed forward and snarled in anger. In an instant, all anyone could hear was the sound of three swords clashing against each other. Onyx slashed at Jade, trying to find an opening for his killing blow, but Jade never gave him an opportunity. Black Jade simply parried and deflected every blow made by the Rebel Gem. Finally, Onyx's flyssa were pressing downward on Jade's crossguard, as he continued to put all of his weight into the blow.

"Only a _Visionary_ has the mindset discipline enough to summon a _blade weapon!_ " Onyx gritted his teeth as he angrily held the black Gem back.

"What can I say?" Black Jade kicked Onyx's arms upward, leaving him vulnerable to a blow to the chest from Jade's sword. Jade cackled as he leaned in close to Onyx's ear. "It runs in the family… _Uncle Onyx_."

As Black Jade pulled his sword out from Onyx's chest, the tallest Rebel Gem doubled back. His body began to vibrate violently as a black line began to split his body in half. And the last thing that Stephanie saw was Onyx's sad expression as his body disappeared in a puff of smoke. All that remained were his two black gemstones.

Black Jade wrapped his robe back around him as Spinel picked up Stephanie's unconscious body. Spinel chuckled in amusement as Black Jade made short work of capturing Quartz and Carnelian. As the wicked black Gem carried the two gemstones in his hand, he turned to Spinel. "What of the humans?"

Spinel looked down at the weak policemen Spinel had defeated earlier. "All CBLTs!" Spinel raised an arm, prompting the Homeworld foot-soldiers to take aim. "Fire!" At the sound of Spinel's words, all of the CBLTs fired on the humans scattered before them. That is, all except for CBLT 3298; all he could do was watch in horror at the bloodshed going on around him.

* * *

 **Three hours later…**

Singing. That's what Stephanie woke up to, singing. She warily stood up, trying to recall what had happened. As her vision became clearer, she saw that she was in some sort of metal room. "Quartz? Carnelian?" Stephanie called out before she remembered the two gemstones that had fallen in front of her before she blacked out. "Onyx! Where are they?"

Stephanie turned to see a wall of solid light in front of her. A low hum could be heard coming from the wall as it flickered and cackled with energy. Stephanie hesitantly placed a hand on the wall, expecting the worst. But to her relief, her arm passed harmlessly through it. She stepped through the wall completely and cheered for her freedom.

"I'm out! Wahoo!" She pumped her fists in the air, proud of her escape. She began to search for her guardians as she passed other containment cells similar to hers. Suddenly, she found another Gem inside one of the cells.

This Gem was about three feet tall with black skin. He wore a black, full-body suit that had a white star on the chest, and he wore his hair in the shape of a cubic afro. But the strangest thing about this Gem was that he gemstone was lying on the floor next to him instead of in the hole in his left palm. The Gem jumped at the sight of Stephanie, doubling backwards against the wall. Stephanie didn't know what to make of this Gem, but she tripped backwards as he slammed his fist against the wall.

"Great! This is just _perfect!_ " He growled angrily as he cradled his gemstone in his arms.

"Uh, do you need help?" Stephanie got closer to the cell.

"No! I mean-don't look at me! Just-go _away!_ "

"Okay…" Stephanie was about to continue her search until the Gem called out to her.

"Hey, wait! You're _out!_ How'd you get past the field?"

"Well, I just stepped through it like this…" Stephanie held her arm over the field, allowing the black Gem to exit his cell with the gemstone in his grasp.

"Ivory!" He called out as he sped down the hallway.

"Wait for me!" Stephanie chased after the Gem, but he ran too fast. Suddenly, another door open and Spinel walked towards another cell with Zircon closely behind him. Stephanie hid in one of the hallways as she eavesdropped on their conversation.

"We can't _leave_ yet!" Zircon was trying to reason with Spinel. "The whole point of coming here was to check on the fusion experiments!"

"STOP SINGING!" Spinel struck a wall next to one of the cells, silencing the angelic voice that Stephanie assumed was the source of the song. Spinel turned to face Zircon and pointed angrily. "The Rebels take _first priority!_ Now, do as you're _told!_ Get back to the command center, and set a course for Homeworld Prime!"

When Spinel finally disappeared, Zircon rubbed his forehead in exhaustion. As he did as he was instructed, he grumbled to himself, angrily. "'Go to Earth' they said. 'It'll be _easy_ ' they said."

Once Zircon was gone, Stephanie peaked around the corner to see another short Gem in a cell. This Gem had white skin and long white hair that covered half of her face. She wore a white dress with a black star on the chest, and had an empty hole on her right palm as she cradled the white gemstone in her arms. Once she was sure that the Homeworld officers were gone, she continued to sing.

Stephanie crept up to her cell and whispered. "Hi, I'm Stephanie. I like your song."

"You escaped…" the white Gem spoke softly as Stephanie freed her as she had with the other Gem. " _Thank you_ , Stephanie."

"You're welcome…"

"Ivory!" the white Gem gasped as she heard someone calling her name. She grabbed Stephanie's arm and ran towards the voice calling out to her. Stephanie could barely hold on as the white Gem ran at impossible speeds. Finally, they stopped once they saw the black Gem Stephanie had freed earlier.

"Jet!" the white Gem called out.

"Ivory!" the two Gems ran towards each other and hugged each other tightly. "It's good to see you again, my love." Jet spoke as he rubbed Ivory's face. "But if we're going to save the others, we need to bring him _back_."

"It's never _worked_ before." Ivory said nervously as she rubbed her thumb around the rim of her gemstone.

"But we've never _tried it_ , before." Jet put both of his hands on Ivory's shoulders. "We have to _try_ … for _him_ and for _her_." The two Gems looked back at Stephanie who didn't understand what they were talking about.

"Very well, let's _do it_." Ivory held her gemstone in her right hand and placed it against Jet's gemstone as he held it in his left. For a moment, nothing happened, but suddenly, the two gemstones stuck together and began to emit a bright gray glow. Jet and Ivory laughed and hugged as their bodies began to merge into one. Stephanie recognized this process as fusion, and smiled as she waited for it to fully form. The two Gems' laughter began to meld into a single laugh, as the light began to disappear.

Finally, the light disappeared completely, leaving the fusion to reveal itself. It stood seven feet tall in a full-body suit. The left half of his suit was jet-black while the right half was ivory-white, with a gray star on the chest and a silver belt around his waist. The fusion had a gray gemstone on each palm, gray skin, a cubic afro, and three grateful eyes that were wide open.

"Stephanie!" Onyx smiled brightly as he kneeled in front of the teenage Rebel. "Thank you!"

"Onyx?!" Stephanie's jaw dropped down to the floor as her starry eyes went wide. "Y-you're a _fusion?!_ "

"No! Well, _yes_ , but I'm… I-I'm not… you see, I…" Onyx tried to find the right words, but as he remembered how he hated himself for not telling her before, he could only thing of one thing to say. "Oh, I'm _sorry_ , Stephanie… I was hoping I'd get a better chance to explain it to you."

"Well…" Stephanie smiled lightly as she rubbed her arm nervously. "Did I… make a good first impression?"

"Oh, Stephanie…" Onyx brushed the girl's cheek as her pure innocence melted his heart. "I already love you."

"Where is she?!"

"It's Spinel!" Onyx bolted upwards. "Stephanie, find the others and get to the control bridge!"

"But, I don't know where they are!" Onyx leaned over and kissed Stephanie on her forehead. Suddenly, multiple possibilities flooded her mind until she could see where she would find Quartz and Carnelian. "Future vision…" She breathed excitedly. "Wait, Onyx, are you gonna be able to beat him on your own?"

"It's okay, Stephanie," Onyx smiled confidently, "I'm _never_ alone."

Stephanie nodded and ran down the hallway to find her friends. Once he made sure that Stephanie was gone, Onyx turned to face the orange Homeworld officer.

"Oh, _great_ ," Spinel grumbled. "You're _both_ out? And you're _fused again?_ Why? Fusion is just a _cheap tactic_ to make _weak Gems_ stronger. Quit embarrassing yourselves! I've seen what you _really_ are!"

Onyx chuckled as his body cackled with electricity. His visor reappeared over his eyes as he began to circle around his enemy, tapping into the power of future vision. And then he began to sing.

 _This is Onyx. Back together._

 _And I'm never goin' down at the hands of the likes of you_

 _Because I'm so much bigger!_

 _An' every part of me is sayin' pull the trigger!_

 _I ain't ever gonna follow your rules_

 _Come at me with any of your fancy tools!_

 _Let's go, just you and me!_

 _Let's go, just one on three!_

Spinel summoned his helmet and charged towards the gray fusion, but Onyx simply rolled out of the way and continued to dodge and block his opponent's blows.

 _Go ahead an' try an' hit me, if your able_

 _Can't you see that our relationship is stable?_

 _I can see you hate how I have a family_

 _But I think your just mad 'cause your lonely!_

 _An' I'm never gonna stop what they made together_

 _I am gonna stay like this forever_

 _If you break me apart, they'll just come back newer_

 _And I'll always be twice the Gem that you are!_

Onyx summoned his swords and began to elegantly cut and slice Spinel's physical form. All the while, the orange officer couldn't lay a hand on Onyx as the Rebel continued to fuel his rage with the constant singing.

 _I am made_

 _O-o-o-o-of_

 _Lo-o-o-o-ove!_

 _Lo-o-o-o-ove!_

 _And it's stronger than you!_

* * *

 **Meanwhile**

Stephanie had freed the other Gems and started creeping through the long hallways. Suddenly, the three Rebels heard a squad of CBLTs march towards them. There was nowhere else to go, and the footsteps were getting closer and closer. The three friends held each other tight as they awaited the inevitable. Finally, Stephanie closed her eyes as she felt someone pull them into a hidden room.

Stephanie and the others stared in awe as CBLT 3298 took off his helmet and warned them to be quiet. Once he made sure that the squad was long gone, CBLT 3298 looked at the Rebels with desperate eyes. "Listen to me; can any of you pilot this ship?"

"Y-yes… I probably can if we can get to the bridge." Quartz replied.

"Okay, I'll get us there…"

"Wait, aren't you one of those scary soldiers?" Stephanie didn't want to look a gift horse in the mouth, but this particular situation raised many questions. "Why are you helping us?"

"Because it's the right thing to _do_." CBLT 3298 feigned a smile until the shortest Gem crossed his arms.

"You wanna get away from Homeworld?"Carnelian asked.

"I wanna get away from Homeworld." CBLT 3298 admitted.

CBLT 3298 led the Rebels down several corridors until they finally reached the bridge. The tall blue Gem reached behind his back and summoned his laser rifle. The pilot's chair rotated to reveal a surprised Zircon, who summoned his own rifle from the gemstone in his forehead.

The Rebels took cover behind one of the computers while Zircon opened fire on the distraught CBLT. But thinking quickly, CBLT 3298 threw his rifle at Zircon, prompting the green officer to drop his rifle. In a blind fury, Zircon leapt into the air, hoping to tackle the traitorous soldier. But the blue soldier smiled as two wings ejected from his gemstone and flew him to safety, allowing Zircon to fall into the escape pod. CBLT 3298 pushed the launch button and sent Zircon falling towards Earth.

"HA! Did you _see that!?_ Did you _see that!?_ " the blue soldier jumped up and down excitingly as the Rebels cheered him on.

"Yeah, man, we _saw that!_ " Carnelian laughed. "Zircon? More like; Zir- _gone!_ Hahaha!"

As Quartz began to study the ship's control consol, Stephanie brought the blue soldier into a tight squeeze. "Thank you, so much for helping us!" she cheered as the Gem returned the hug. "By the way, what's your name?"

"Oh, it's, uh, CBLT 3298."

"C- _what?_ " Stephanie pulled away from the hug to look the Gem in the eyes. "That's not a _name_ , that's a _label!_ "

"That's the only name they ever _gave_ me." CBLT 3298 shrugged.

"Well, we're _certainly_ not going to use _that!_ " Quartz commented from the pilot's chair.

"Hmmmm… CBLT, huh?" Stephanie rubbed her chin as their new friend nodded. "Okay, _Cobalt_. We're gonna call you _Cobalt_. Is that okay?"

"Cobalt?" the blue Gem looked at his hands and then eagerly smiled. "Yeah… _Yeah!_ I _like_ that!"

But Cobalt's jubilation would have to wait. An explosion rocked the ship so hard it became caught in Earth gravitational field. Quartz couldn't find the right controls to stop it, so he simply joined his friends in watching Earth's surface get closer. Suddenly, the door opened to reveal a beaten, but triumphant Onyx.

"Everyone, into the escape pod!" he shouted.

"Wait! There are two other Rebels in the brig!" Cobalt warned them. "Press the red button on the control consol!"

Quartz did as he was instructed and the four Gems watched as two pods ejected down to Earth. Once everyone was safely on board, Onyx hit the release button, sending the Rebels on a course back to the Temple. Stephanie activated her bubble shield as the pod fell apart when it hit the ground. Finally, the entire spaceship crashed onto the beach and blew up. Stephanie retracted her shield and found herself surrounded by her friends.

"Nice job, Stephanie." Onyx hugged the girl from behind.

"Omigosh!" Stephanie pulled away from Onyx to look him straight in the eyes. "I can't believe you've been a fusion all this time!"

"You _know_ about Jet and Ivory!?" Carnelian smiled brightly.

"Wait, you're a fusion? I've never _met_ a fusion before…" Cobalt smiled at his new friends.

"Oh, _no!_ " Quartz sounded rather disappointed. "We were going to _introduce_ you… Onyx, your plan!"

"We were waiting for your _birthday_." Onyx shrugged.

"W-we can still _do it!_ " Stephanie staggered to her feet. "I'll just pretend I didn't _know!_ "

Carnelian gave a hardy laugh as he helped Quartz and Cobalt off of the ground. Stephanie and her friends looked on at the massive spaceship that had crashed onto the beach. A lot of Homeworld Gems were now loose on Earth, and it was up to them to find them.

Fortunately, Stephanie realized that with the addition of Cobalt to their team, and the two other prisoners they had freed, they'd have no trouble keeping the world safe.

"We've got our work cut out for us." Stephanie giggled.

"You've got _that_ right." Onyx happily patted Stephanie on the head.

* * *

 **Phew! I probably won't be writing more chapters for a while after this one! 'Cause, wow, this was a doozey!**

 **Next: Two More Rebels and Cobalt's Baptism!**


	10. New Rebels or Cobalt's Baptism

**Warning, this chapter ALSO contains reference material from Star Wars: The Force Awakens!**

 **Small note: I made some adjustments to the last paragraph because I wasn't quite satisfied with the way it turned out.**

 **Chapter 10: Two More Rebels/Cobalt's Baptism!**

* * *

The Rebel Gems were sifting through the rubble of the wrecked ship. From what their newest ally had told them, the Homeworld Gems had captured two other Rebels, holding them in the brig with the intention of executing them back on Homeworld Prime. While Onyx didn't exactly trust the reformed CBLT quite yet, every possibility needed to be investigated.

Stephanie looked at Cobalt as he removed his armor, leaving nothing but a navy-blue, full-body suit with a hole on the back to reveal his light-blue gemstone. After learning about Homeworld's tyranny, the blue Gem was eager to rid himself of all memory of the Gems that would never regard him as anything other than a slave. Despite this, Cobalt wasn't fully comfortable with his current situation, either; he was now in unfamiliar territory, relying on the assistance of Gems he didn't fully trust. For the moment, he just stared as the waves crashed onto the shore.

"Hey, Cobalt, are you doin' okay?" Stephanie tapped her friend on the shoulder.

"I think so…" Cobalt shifted his suit into a pair of loosely-fitting pants and a teal tunic similar to Quartz's. "I just… I can't believe I just did that."

"Did what?"

"When I awakened from my Kindergarten on Homeworld Colony Gamma, I was told that I was created to do _one thing:_ serve Homeworld. But when I saw the others kill those defenseless humans, I hated them for expecting me to do the same…" Cobalt looked down at his new friend. "I don't expect you all to accept me _right away_ , but I am _never_ going back to Homeworld."

Stephanie could see that Cobalt was worried, his reflective eyes shone with anxiety and fear. "Don't worry; you're with _us_ , now! You're a Rebel Gem."

"Heh, thank you, Stephanie…" Cobalt chuckled and began to relax as the girl kept her hand on his shoulder. He still didn't quite understand Stephanie, but at least now he knew that he could trust her. "Honestly, I never thought I'd get away from my own _Kindergarten_. You know what that's like, right?"

"What? Oh, no, I didn't come from a Kindergarten; I came from my mom and dad." Stephanie lifted her shirt just enough to show Cobalt her topaz gemstone. "See, my dad was a Gem, but my mom's a human."

"You're some sort of… _hybrid?_ " Cobalt was very confused. "How does that even work?"

"The answer to that question, my blue-skinned buddy, lies in a tale I like to call, 'The Ballad of Crimson and Margaret.'"

"Over here, guys!" Carnelian called out as he summoned his flail. "Something's _moving_ over here!"

The other Rebels rushed over to Carnelian's position, summoning their own weapons in case they'd be dealing with a hostile. Sure enough, a something was moving beneath a pile of wreckage. Onyx warned everyone to stay back as he inspected the source, using his power to slowly lift the rubble away. Suddenly, Onyx leaned backwards as two white boomerangs glided over him.

The other Rebels dodged the boomerangs just in time before they returned to their source. "Stay back! The Diamonds have already taken my _home_ and my _family_ , but they will _not_ take _me!_ "

"It _can't_ be…" Onyx retracted his swords and removed his visor from his face. As the silhouetted figure held her ground, Onyx cautiously moved closer until he stood only a few feet away. He lifted his palms in her direction and spoke in a calm and collective voice. "My name is Onyx, Visionary Warrior for Crimson Topaz's Rebellion! My instructor was Master Alexandrite!"

To everybody's shock, the two boomerangs fell to the ground. The prisoner stepped out of the shadows, revealing her clean, white skin. She wore her long, silver hair down to her shoulders, a tattered skirt wrapped around her waist, and a white, sleeveless vest covering her torso. Tears began to well up in her eyes as she reached out to Onyx, revealing the two white gemstones in her palms.

"I _knew_ it!" She sobbed as Onyx embraced her in a tight hug. "I _knew_ you'd find me!"

The two Gems split apart, allowing the other Rebels to get a better look at her. Her face shone in the firelight from the wreckage, revealing specks of pink light that spread from cheek-to-cheek, and three eyes. Acting on impulse, Quartz stepped in between the two Gems.

"Oh, my _goodness!_ Princess Opal!" Quartz gasped as he bowed in respect. "It is _I_ , Crimson Topaz's loyal quartz sentry! You probably didn't recognize me because of the change I made to my uniform. Can you _believe it_ , Onyx?! Its-!" Quartz stopped once he saw Onyx raise an eyebrow in annoyance. "Uh… Oh, uh… Aheh, my _apologies_." Quartz smiled awkwardly and went back to the others.

For a moment, the two Gems just smiled at each other in disbelief. "You changed your _hair_." Onyx chuckled.

"New outfit?" Opal asked.

" _No_ … _same_ outfit, new _pattern_." Onyx brought Opal into another tight hug before leading her over to the starry-eyed teenage Rebel. Onyx held up one hand to introduce his friend to the white Gem. "Stephanie, allow me to introduce you to Princess Opal Doublet of Homeworld outpost Atlantis, adopted daughter of Ambassador Aquamarine… she's my _sister_."

Stephanie cupped her hands over her mouth. Ever since Onyx first mentioned her, Stephanie wondered what Onyx's sister looked like, but now she finally got the chance to meet her. "Well, hi!" Stephanie eagerly shook Opal's hand. "I'm Stephanie Universe! I'm Crimson Topaz's daughter!"

"Crimson Topaz…" Opal smiled as she kneeled down to face the girl. "I fought by his side from the destruction of Atlantis until my kidnapping at Russia. And a daughter of _his_ is a friend of _mine_." Opal got back up and turned to Onyx. "Where _is_ General Topaz?"

The Rebels remained silent for a moment; the gravity of Opal's question came crashing down on them. Finally, Stephanie spoke up.

"Well, my mom was a human… and Onyx said I wouldn't live unless my dad gave himself up."

"Oh…. I see…" Opal kneeled back down to place both of her hands on Stephanie's shoulders. "I'm very sorry to hear that. Your father was a very good Gem. He would've been _proud_ to see you now." Suddenly, a memory flashed through Opal's mind, prompting her to bolt up. "Onyx, we have to find Amazonite!"

"Who?" Onyx cocked an eyebrow.

"After I was kidnapped, I managed to escape and I tried to get back here," Opal explained. "But my ship was badly damaged, and I could only make it to the Andromeda System. But while I was there, I found a group of Homeworld castaways, one of them was Amazonite! She was just a young Gem and she couldn't fend for herself, so I took care of her. But, Onyx, it is _imperative_ that we find her!"

"Well, _of course_ , we'll help her, but why is she so important?"

"Onyx… she's a _Visionary!_ "

Onyx stumbled backwards at his sister's words. "Are you _certain?_ "

"Yes… Onyx, you have to teach her… what Alexandrite… taught… _you_ …" Opal's eyes fluttered shut as she collapsed to the ground. Stephanie gasped and rushed to Onyx's side.

"She'll be alright," Onyx assured the others as he carried Opal towards the temple. "She just needs to _rest_."

The other Rebels followed Onyx as he carried Opal into the Temple. When they finally reached the Temple's doors, Onyx quickly, but carefully, took Opal to his room and set her down on a pile of gray pillows. While the others chose to wait outside, Stephanie continued to follow Onyx into his room, driven by her familial love for her guardian.

"Onyx, can I ask you something?"

"Of course, Stephanie, ask me _anything_."

"Well, it's just…" Stephanie struggled to find the right words. "If you're a _fusion_ , how can you have a sister?"

"It's a long story, Stephanie…" Onyx took off his visor to look her in the eyes. "Someday I'll explain it to you, but the simplest way for me to explain it is that Opal and I are… kind of an _experiment_. We aren't exactly fusions in the _traditional_ sense." Onyx placed his visor back over his eyes and led the girl out of his room so Opal could rest.

"Listen up," Onyx spoke in his usual tone, "we have about fourteen hours before a military squadron arrives. When they get here, we'll need to be here, too, so we can explain what has happened. But until then, I want a chance to look for this Amazonite and any other Gems that need to be found."

Cobalt silently crept away from the others and secluded himself into a corner of the Temple. He wanted to trust the Rebels, but he was not prepared to face any Homeworld Gems just yet. This reluctance did not go unnoticed by Onyx.

"Stephanie, I need you to stay here." Onyx kneeled down to face his friend. "I'm trusting you to be here when Opal wakes up. _And_ to keep a close eye on Cobalt." Stephanie nodded in agreement; she trusted Onyx's decision and knew that he wanted what was best for the team. As Quartz and Carnelian followed Onyx onto the warp pad, the tall gray Gem gasped and looked back at the teenage Rebel. "Oh, Stephanie, there's one more thing I have to mention before we leave!"

"What is it?" Stephanie was taken by surprise from Onyx's outburst. But the Gem leader simply smiled and moved his hands together into the shape of a heart.

"I love you. Bye."

"See ya later!" Carnelian chuckled as he activated the warp pad.

Stephanie blushed as she giggled at Onyx's affection. Feeling hungry, she walked towards the kitchen at took out a can of soup from one of the cabinets. She poured the soup into the pot and began to stir it as the stove heated it up. As she stirred, she wondered how long it would be before she got to see her mother and Ronnie again. She knew that they had both been caught up in the evacuation, but she didn't know how long it would be before they were allowed to come back.

Suddenly, Stephanie was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of droplets tapping the window. Soon enough, the rain became heavier, attracting a dim flash of lightening followed by a low rumble of thunder. "Wow, it's _really_ coming down." Stephanie chuckled as a loud boom of thunder sounded from outside.

"There _here!_ " Cobalt fumbled to the ground and rushed behind Stephanie.

" _Who's_ here?" Stephanie asked.

"The Homeworld Gems!"

"Really?!" beads of nervous sweat began to roll down Stephanie's face as Cobalt gripped the back of her shirt.

"What _else_ could be making that horrible noise?!" another boom of thunder prompted a terrified shriek form Cobalt's mouth. "This is it! They're gonna shatter our gemstones! And then we're gonna _die!_ "

Stephanie looked down at her friend once she realized what he was talking about. "Oh, no, that's just _thunder_."

"Huh?"

"Yeah, everything's _fine_. It's just thunder. It happens when it rains." Cobalt calmed down enough to look out the window to see the droplets of water. A confused expression spread across his face. "Don't you know about rain?"

"I don't… really know _anything_ about this planet…" Cobalt shrugged.

"That's okay." Stephanie smiled and pulled a glass lid out from the cabinet above her. "Here, let me show you. Pretend that the soup in this pot is the ocean. When the sun heats it up, the water evaporates into clouds, like the steam." Stephanie placed the glass lid onto the pot and pointed out the droplets to Cobalt. "And _then_ , when the clouds get _really heavy_ … it rains."

"So, boiling liquids just _fall_ from the sky? What is _wrong_ with this planet?!"

"No, _no_ , it's just _water_. It can't _hurt_ you." Stephanie laughed at her friend's confusion. She turned off the stove and led Cobalt over to the screen door. "Wahoo!" Stephanie ran out into the rain, letting it soak her cloths. " _See_ , I'm okay! It's just water! This is just something that happens on Earth!"

As Cobalt watched Stephanie gleefully run through the liquids descending from the sky, he reached out with one hand outside. He pulled back once a droplet landed on his finger. Much to his surprise, it actually felt rather cold. He rubbed the droplet in his palm, letting it relax his defenses until it finally dried up, much to his disappointment. He reached out further this time, letting the rain cover his entire arm, until he finally stepped out into the rain completely. It was an enlightening sensation for Cobalt; gentle and soothing, unlike his brief but cruel upbringing in the Homeworld Army.

As the rain continued to wash over his body, Cobalt closed his eyes. His lips quivered as the droplets ran down his face into his mouth. The blue Gem felt so relaxed, he didn't even notice that he was lifting his arms up to the sky, as if he were begging for more. Cobalt could hardly believe it; the strange Earth-borne substance had set him free. He had felt the joy of freedom once he was away from Homeworld, but at this moment, he finally felt at peace.

"Yay, you _did it!_ " Stephanie cheered as she came back to the blue Gem. "Isn't it _cool?_ "

"Yeah…" Cobalt breathed as a joyful tear rolled down his cheek. "Cool…"

* * *

 **Next: A Brief Look Into the Past!**


	11. A Brief Look Into the Past!

**Chapter 11: A Brief Look into the Past!**

* * *

CBLT 4465 staggered out of his escape pod. Shortly after capturing the Rebel Gems, he and his platoon were supposed to bring them back to Homeworld Prime for execution. But somehow, the traitors had escaped and caused the ship to crash. CBLT 4465 was now alone, on a planet unfamiliar to him. His only hope was to find either General Spinel or Black Jade, the commanding officers he was placed under.

Much to his relief, he saw another escape pod only a few meters ahead of him. The image of the pod drew closer to him as his speed increased. Suddenly, a black Gem stumbled out of the pod onto his knees.

"Commander Jade!" CBLT 4465 stopped in his tracks once he saw Jade's face. His entire face was pitch-black, save for two, red vertical stripes that covered his equally dark eyes. His head was full of white hair that had a red stripe that ran all the way from the front of his bangs to the back of his neck. His white eyebrows were knitted together in a frustrated expression as he stared at the petrified CBLT.

"M-my apologies, C-commander Jade," CBLT 4465 stuttered as Black Jade pulled the hood from his cloak back over his eyes. "I-I know that you don't like being seen without your hood, but I suggest that we work together to find General Spinel and Commander Zircon."

Black Jade stood up slowly, keeping one hand behind his back as if to conceal something. For a moment, all that CBLT 4465 did was stare at Jade's half-covered face. Finally, Black Jade reached out to the blue soldier, revealing the black gemstone embedded into his right palm. But just as he was about to get closer, the CBLT shivered from pain as he felt his gemstone crack. Before he even knew it, his gemstone was being tugged out through his body and into the clutches of Jade. CBLT 4465's physical form disappeared; the only thing left of him was his cracked gemstone. Jade tightened his grip, crushing the gemstone in his grasp and sprinkling the dust onto the ground at his feet.

"Apology, _accepted_ , soldier…" Black Jade grunted in a dark, monotone voice. Black Jade went back to his escape pod and sat, cross-legged, in the shade. Closing his eyes, he focused all of his energy into his gemstone, channeling its collective power through his future vision, until he finally entered an astral plane.

In his mind, Black Jade was now back on Homeworld Prime. More specifically, he was in the reconstructed Visionary Temple, which currently served as the headquarters of the Diamonds' current advisors: the Shadows. At one time, the Visionaries were well-known as the advisors of the Diamond Hierarchy. But when Crimson Topaz rebelled against his former masters, the Visionaries' eyes were opened to the truth about their masters' tyranny. Unfortunately, several Visionaries refused to turn away from the Diamonds, and chose to slaughter their brothers and sisters. Those who remained loyal to the Diamonds formed a new order; subjecting themselves to a process called the merge, which turned their gemstones and their skin to a dark black, leaving only small traces of their original color behind. These Gems called themselves the Shadows. To this day, the Visionaries are all but extinct.

Black Jade concentrated on what he wanted to see, focusing on the one Gem he knew would be able to help him. Finally, his astral form stood before a ten-foot tall Gem with black skin and a dark robe. A dark indigo stripe spread diagonally across his face as he looked down on the Gem in contempt. This was Black Jade's instructor; Black Sugilite.

"My instructor…" Jade kneeled before the massive astral image. "My mission has been compromised. General Spinel, Commander Zircon, _and_ the entire platoon have gone missing and I am now stranded. I request that you contact Gray Diamond and send reinforcements."

"No…" Jade's head lifted slightly in confusion. "You have failed one of the most simple of tasks assigned to you, my young student. You are a disgrace to my teachings… _and_ to your _legacy_ …" Jade hung his head out of self-doubt, fearing that Sugilite's words were true. "However…" Jade's head lifted back up to better acknowledge his instructor. "It is within your power to gain _redemption_ …"

"How, my master?" Jade asked eagerly. "How may I earn your forgiveness? What do I need to do?"

"There has been a new possibility in the timeline… have you felt it?"

"… _Yes_."

"After you and Spinel made your last report from the Andromeda System… I have been focusing on the possibilities surrounding this… _other_ … this _female_ _Gem_ you captured along with your mother, Princess Opal Doublet…"

"…Doublet means _nothing_ to me…"

"And I now have _no doubt_ … that this Gem has the _potential_ to unlock her own future vision… stalk her… bring her to me… and I shall _complete_ your training… do what must be done, Black Jade… and _crush_ any who stand in your way…"

" _Yes_ , my master…" The astral image of Black Sugilite disappeared as Jade returned to the physical world. But the black Gem continued to sit down, trembling with fear. He reached behind his back and placed a half-crushed, black helmet in front of him. The helmet had two long, curved horns on the brow. A jagged and scratched visor lay only a few inches below the horns, connected to a razor-sharp mouth-plate. Black Jade hung his head in shame over the helmet, allowing tears of self-pity run down his cheeks.

"Forgive me…" he sobbed. "Sugilite is _right_ … I _have_ failed you… not because I allowed the prisoners to _escape_ … not because I allowed myself to be _stranded_ on this miserable planet… but because I feel it _again_ … my former self _begging_ to be freed… I thought that I had cast aside all of my false beliefs… but when we captured my mother… I… I… please, _show me_ … show me the _power_ the darkness offers… and _nothing_ will stand in our way… I will _finish_ … what you _started_ … Uncle Beryl…"

When his tears stopped, Jade placed the tips of his forefingers on the horns of Beryl's helmet. Suddenly, a powerful vibration ran through Jade's form, causing a wicked grin to spread across Jade's face. "Thank you… my uncle…"

* * *

"HE'S YOUR WHAT?!" Onyx could barely believe what his sister had told him.

"It's true." Opal sighed. "Black Jade is my _son_."

"But… who is the father…?" Quartz asked, trying to keep everything under control.

Opal looked out the window, resting her head on her hand as she continued. "Onyx, do you remember that mission to Mars we went on during the war… the one with Azurite and Pyrope?"

"How could I _forget?_ " Onyx looked down at his feet. "Pyrope saved my life… and _Azurite_ … she was the love of it."

"Well, you weren't the _only ones_ who consummated their love that night… Pyrope was shattered that day… but after I landed in _Andromeda_ … I brought Red Jade into this world. I just thought that I could protect him… but he had a sick _fixation_ on our family history. There's just too much _Beryl_ in him."

"Wait, wait, guys; can someone _please_ get me up to speed?" Stephanie stepped in between the original Rebel Gems. It was now eight o' clock in the morning, and the four original Rebels stood before Stephanie, Margaret, Ronnie, and Cobalt. "First of all, how can you two be siblings and fusions of the same Gems? Second, who can Black Jade be your son if you didn't give up your physical form? And third, who is Beryl?"

"Would you prefer that I answer those questions in the order you asked them, Stephanie?" Quartz asked.

"Sure…" the teenage Rebel shrugged.

"Jet and Ivory created a project called 'Triple O.' Reproduction for Gems is different. And Onyx's brother. Satisfied?"

"I can't really remember what I asked…" Stephanie sat down from exhaustion. Everything had happened so quickly, she found it hard to take in. Two hours ago, military personnel had arrived to know what had happened. Being the daughter of a Homeworld diplomat, Opal handled the personal relations part while everybody else helped with clean up. One hour later, the people of Beach City returned to their homes, among them were a relieved and tearful Margaret Universe and Ronnie Markson. Both of whom were glad to see Stephanie unharmed. And just recently, Opal revealed the identity of the slender black Gem who nearly killed them.

Finally, Onyx kneeled down in front of Stephanie, bathing her in the gray light of his empathy appetite. "Its okay, Stephanie. I will explain everything…" Onyx lifted his palms up to the wall, shining a gray light upon it to display his memory and tell the tale.

* * *

 **The Earth. 379 years ago…**

Onyx stood outside of General Topaz's ship. The Rebels had flown to Earth's moon in order to destroy the Communication Hub. If the Homeworld colonists were to lose the Hub, they would lose all contact with their Diamond superiors. Quartz was always at General Topaz's aid, helping with strategies and attack plans. Azurite acted as the strike-force's supervisor; the dark-blue Gem proudly gazed at her soldiers. After the death of Topaz's friend, Aquamarine, Opal took over as the representative to their human allies, when she wasn't struggling with her feelings for Pyrope and Onyx.

But Onyx could only gaze down at the Earth's surface. Opal noticed the sad expression on his face as she got closer to him. Ever since Master Alexandrite had died at the hands of Black Beryl, Onyx usually tried to hide his emotions, but nothing could ever get past Opal. She rubbed his arm to get his attention, gazing at her reflection in his visor.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" He finally asked. "You can see Africa from here… if you had the enhanced vision my future vision grants me, maybe you could see the village… were my momma raised me…"

"Onyx, what's wrong?" Opal was now deeply concerned.

"Opal," Onyx finally turned to face her properly, "how do you feel about _fusion?_ "

"It's an excellent battle tactic." Opal shrugged, rubbing her thumb on her left hand. "There's not much _else_ I can think-"

"Opal, _please!_ " Onyx took off his visor and looked at Opal with desperate eyes. "You can tell me the _truth_. No one else will _ever_ know. Please… _tell me_."

Opal gazed down at the two gemstones in Onyx's palms and sighed. "It's… it's _beautiful_. It's like I trust someone else, so I synchronize _with_ them, and then… I'm still partly _myself_ , and yet, I'm someone _entirely different_. No matter what any other Gem ever said, I've loved it… why are you asking me this?"

"Alexandrite told me I had a brother…" Onyx breathed calmly. "His name was Obsidian… he was created by Jet and Ivory, too… and he felt about fusion the same way you and I do…"

"Onyx, please, _tell me_ , what's troubling you?" Opal looked into two of Onyx's eyes, listening to every word he spoke.

"Beryl's here… _now_ , on this moon…"

"How do you know?"

"He's been concentrating on me. Ever since I last faced him." Onyx lifted his right hand to show Opal the white streak on his gemstone, the one that was damaged from his last fight with Black Beryl. "He's come for _me_. He can _feel_ when I'm here. That's why I have to go; as long as I stay I'm endangering this group _and_ our mission here. I have to face him."

" _Why?_ " Opal was now visibly worried.

"…He's Obsidian… my _brother_ …"

"Your _brother…?_ " Opal's eyes were wide with shock.

"There's more." Onyx steeled his nerves as he continued to speak with Opal. "It won't be _easy_ for you to hear, but you _must;_ if I don't make it back, you're the only hope Crimson has for the Rebellion."

"Onyx, don't _say_ things like that!" Opal's lips quivered as she spoke. "You're _irreplaceable!_ _You_ trained under Master Alexandrite! You have powers I-I don't _understand_ , and could _never have!_ "

"You're _wrong_ , Opal. _You_ have those powers, too. In time, you'll learn to _unlock_ them as I have."

"How could you _possibly_ know that?"

"Because thanks to you, Opal, I now know that I was _right_ about my family. Fusion is _sacred_ to my family… my brother loves it… _I_ love it, and… my _sister_ loves it…" Opal slowly removed the glove from her hand, revealing a second gemstone in her palm. She held both of her hands up to Onyx's, noticing that the cuts of their gemstones were completely identical. "Yes… it's _you_ , Opal…"

"…I _know_." Opal breathed nervously. "Somehow, I've _always_ known."

"Then you know _why_ I have to face him."

"No!" Opal began to cry; Onyx had never seen her cry before. "Onyx, run away! _Far_ away! If he can feel your presence, then _leave_ this place! I'll explain it to General Topaz, everyone will _understand!_ If I were put in your position, _I'd_ do the _same!_ "

"No, you _wouldn't_." Onyx wiped his sister's tears away. "You've always been strong."

"But _why_ must you confront him?"

"Because… there is still _good_ in him. I've _felt it_. He won't turn me over to the Diamonds, I can _save_ him. I can turn him _back_ to _our_ side. I have to _try_." Onyx brushed aside Opal's bangs to see a tearful third eye on her forehead, causing a soft smile to spread across his face. He placed his visor back on his head, and set off towards the Communication Hub.

* * *

A few minutes later, Onyx allowed himself to be captured and brought to the control deck. There, he was greeted by a seven-foot-five Gem wearing a black suit of armor. A long cape fell from his shoulders, concealing most of his body. A horned helmet covered his entire head as he reached out with his right hand, revealing two gemstones merged together as one. "Welcome, my brother…" Beryl spoke coldly.

"Yes… welcome, my new student…" Black Malachite cackled from his throne. Green spots covered his black face as a wicked smile spread from ear-to-ear. "You will be subjected to the merge, and you will join your brother under my studies…"

"You're gravely _mistaken_. You _won't_ seduce me like you did my brother." Onyx gave a cocky smile as he went on. "Because soon I'll be _dead_. And _you_ along with me."

"Oh, no… I'm afraid it is _you_ who are mistaken. About a great _many_ things." As Onyx's smile began to fade, the sinister Shadow lifted himself off of his throne, making his way to the gray Visionary. "Did you _truly_ believe that I would not be aware of Topaz's arrival the moment he set foot on this moon? Oh… I'm _afraid_ the Communication Hub's shield generators will be _quite_ _operational_ when they arrive…"

 **Meanwhile**

"May the future be in our favor…" Admiral Amber was never a very religious Gem, but she knew as well as anybody else that it wouldn't hurt to ask for a few miracles. The Rebels had begun their assault on the Communication Hub, Azurite proudly led her troops towards the Homeworld's drones; Elite Rubies. Opal, Pyrope, and their titan friend Rubellite were ordered by Crimson to sneak into the Hub and deactivate the shields. Quartz, who had just recently started to obtain his independence startled Crimson with the quartz-gibberish all quartz sentries spoke before learning any real language.

"Genera Tapas, towa stea sfe!"

"What are you talking about, Quartz?"

"Sheal stea uep!"

"How can their shields… still be up?" Crimson lowered his shield enough to gaze past the glistening armor to see that his white friend was correct. "Break off the attack, the shields are still up!"

"Take evasive action!" Admiral Amber shouted. "All troops, prepare to retreat!"

"No!" Crimson shouted back. "We'll never get another chance at this, Admiral!"

"We have no choice, General Topaz! Not even the shield from your gemstone can withstand firepower of _this_ magnitude!"

"Pyrope and the others will have those shields down, we just have to give them more _time!_ "

 **Back at the Hub**

"Isn't it an amazing sight to see, my young student?" Malachite chuckled as Onyx clenched his fists in anger. "Don't let it stop now… if you behave yourself, I'll let you collect their shards as a reminder…"

Onyx impulsively summoned a flyssa from his right palm, bringing it down onto the malevolent Malachite. Unfortunately, a glistening black cutlass blocked his blow. Beryl thrust his sword upward, causing Onyx to back away. Onyx did his best to block Beryl's attacks until he could finally leap to safety on top of scaffolding.

"Impressive." Beryl commented. " _Most_ impressive."

"Your thoughts betray you, Obsidian." Onyx tried to reason with his fallen brother. "I feel the good in you, the _conflict_."

"That name no longer has any _meaning_ for me. And there _is_ no conflict."

"You couldn't bring yourself to kill me before, and I don't believe you'll destroy me now."

"You underestimate the impact the Rebels' abuse had on me." Beryl growled. "If you will not fight, then you will _meet your destiny!_ " Beryl was about to throw his cutlass at Onyx, but some kind of explosion shook the entire Hub. Onyx fell to the ground, but a wide grin was plastered over his face; Opal did it!

 **Outside**

"The shields are down! Push the attack forward!" Admiral Amber smiled brightly as Azurite's troops trampled the ruby drones.

"We're on our way!" General Topaz unsheathed his sword and pointed it towards the Communication Hub. "All troops, press on! Hahaha! I _told_ you they'd do it, Quartz!"

"Hehehehehe!" Quartz chuckled.

 **Back Inside**

Beryl wandered through the darkness in search of his brother. Using his future vision to reach out and find Onyx, the black Gem also used his merged gemstone to illuminate the surrounding area. "You cannot hide forever, Onyx…"

"I _will not fight you_."

Beryl whipped around. He couldn't see him, but the sinister Shadow could now see into Onyx's mind. "Your thoughts _betray_ you. You're feelings for your friend's are _strong_ …" Onyx tried his best to block his thoughts, but to no avail. "Especially for our… _sister_ … so, this _whole time_ , Opal was my _baby sister_. Now, we don't _need you_. Alexandrite was _wise_ to hide her from me, and she was even _wiser_ to hide her being a fusion. She saw the abuse I suffered, the discrimination, the _pain_. Now, if you will not accept the merge… then perhaps _she_ will. And then, I think we'll go to that wretched village you love so much… and _burn it to the ground_."

" _ **NEVER!**_ " Onyx summoned both flyssa from his palms and buried them into a surprised Beryl's shoulders, pinning him to the wall. "I offered you _love_ , _redemption_ , and you repay me by threatening everything I _love!?_ You honestly believe that _you_ have suffered? Don't. Blink!"

Beryl screamed in pain as Onyx violently ripped into his mind. Various images flooded Beryl's psyche, showing him Onyx's past experiences. How the other children of Africa would throw rocks at him, how the adults would look down on him in disgust, how the slave drivers took him away from his momma. Finally, Beryl broke free of Onyx's mental grasp.

Onyx used his mind to pull the flyssa away from Beryl, and began to rapidly slash at his fallen brother. Beryl did his best to parry every blow Onyx dealt out, but he tripped over himself, falling onto his back. Onyx slammed his dual flyssa together, causing them to form a larger fusion weapon. The blows became stronger against Beryl's cutlass with every strike Onyx made. Suddenly, Onyx knocked Beryl's sword away and sliced his gemstone nearly in half.

"Aaaaah!" Beryl grasped his palm, comforting his wounded gemstone. Onyx kept his fusion sword close to Beryl's face, looking away to face Black Malachite's laughter.

"Good! Your hate has made you powerful! Now, strike your brother down, and take his place at my side!" Onyx glanced down at the white streak on his gemstone, then back down to see the crack he had made on Beryl's gemstone. It was then, that Onyx realized what was happening; he now had a choice to make, and it had to be _now_.

"…Never." Onyx dissipated his fusion weapon, turning to face a confused Malachite. "I'll _never_ be subjected to the merge. You _failed_ , you filthy Shadow, I am more than a Visionary; I am a _fusion_. I am made of _love_. Like my brother _before me_. And I am _proud_."

For a moment, Malachite just stared in confusion at Onyx's words. No one had ever resisted the temptation to gain power, but when he looked into the gray Visionary's eyes, he could see that he wasn't lying. "So be it… _fusion_." Malachite spat in disgust. "If you will not be turned… you will be _destroyed_." A bright green blast shot from Malachite's gemstone, striking Onyx square in the chest, making him fall to the ground in agony. Malachite laughed maniacally as Beryl rose back up to his feet. But what neither Malachite nor Onyx noticed was that Beryl was now clenching his chest rather than his gemstone, trying his best not to let it go.

Beryl had gotten a chance to see what Onyx faced as a human being, and realized that it was far worse than anything he had faced in the Rebellion. Tears rolled down his cheeks beneath his helmet as he continued to watch his brother scream in agony. He wanted to look away, but Onyx called out to him, begging for help he feared would never come.

At last, Obsidian grabbed Malachite and lifted his former master over his head. Malachite redirected his power towards Obsidian, but his power had no effect. Finally, Obsidian flung Malachite into the Hub's main reactor, causing a massive explosion that blew the black Gem backwards. Onyx struggled to get to his feet, and made his way back over to his brother.

 **Outside**

An explosion caused the Communication Hub to come crumbling down before the victorious Rebels. The only one who wasn't happy was Opal. Pyrope and Azurite did their best to comfort her.

"I'm sure Onyx wasn't in that thing when it blew…" Pyrope assured her.

"He wasn't… I can feel it…" Opal rubbed both of her arms as she stared into the smoke. But to everyone's surprise, they saw someone carrying another person over their shoulder. Opal, Pyrope, and Azurite rushed to Onyx's side, but stopped in their tracks once they saw who he was carrying.

Onyx dropped Obsidian onto his back, trying his best to keep him alive. Onyx took off his visor to look his brother in the eyes, surprised to see his brother grab his arm. "Onyx… please… help me get… my gemstones out of this suit…"

"But you'll be _shattered!_ " Onyx sobbed.

" _Nothing_ … can stop that now. Please, because of my anger, I killed our parents… because of my weakness, I slaughtered the innocent… please, just this _once_ … let me see… what I could have had… as my _true self_."

With a tearful nod, Onyx twisted Obsidian's gemstone until a flash of light retreated into the cracked gemstone, causing the armor to fall away. Onyx placed the gemstone on the ground, gazing at the black and white lights bring Obsidian's physical form back to life. Obsidian's body was terribly deformed; his muscles were swollen and decrepit, his arms and legs twisted in different directions, his skin was an explosion of black and white, and two of his eyes appeared to be melted into one.

Onyx placed a hand on Obsidian's shoulder, hoping to give any comfort he could. But Obsidian gave a weak smile, lifted his right arm onto Onyx's shoulder, and spoke softly. "Mother and father… would have been so… _proud_ of you…" Onyx shed a single tear as he smiled at his brother's words. "Now… _go_ … my brother… _leave me_ …"

"No…" Onyx frowned. "You're coming _with us!_ I made a _promise!_ I have to _save_ you!"

"You already… _have_ , Onyx…" Obsidian coughed and looked to the other Rebels. "In my arrogance… I thought I was _beyond_ saving… that Black Beryl had _destroyed_ me… but you _knew_ … you _knew_ that I was still alive… tell our sister… _you saved my life_ …" With that, Obsidian had one final look at his brother. His eyelids became heavy, his head began to tilt backwards as he felt the gemstone in his had break further.

"Brother!" Onyx cried as he grasped his brother's hand. " _I can't_ _lose you, too!_ " But it was too late; Obsidian's form disappeared, leaving only the shattered remains of two gemstones, once merged together. Onyx bubbled the shards and hugged it tightly as tears continued to run down his face.

 _Onyx…_ Master Alexandrite's voice echoed in Onyx's mind. _You were right…_ Onyx removed his visor to see the spirit of Alexandrite, and another spirit begin to appear beside him. This spirit wore robe similar to Alexandrite's, his skin was black with streaks and spots of white, and he smiled as he showed Onyx two holes in his palms where his gemstones should have been.

* * *

 **Present time**

"I brought Obsidian's shards back to the Temple." Onyx concluded. "I took them to the burning room and cremated them, granting him true peace." The others remained quiet, silenced by Onyx's sad tale. But Onyx finally smiled and looked to Stephanie. "And that's how I know, I'm _never_ alone…" Stephanie laughed and hugged her guardian.

 **Next: Beach Summer Fun Buddies!**


	12. Beach Summer Fun Buddies!

**Chapter 12: Beach Summer Fun Buddies!**

* * *

The Rebels had taken Opal and Cobalt on a small search party mission, and Margaret needed to get back to work at her market, that left Stephanie and Ronnie alone in the house. Stephanie smiled as she told her friend, Ronnie, about her experience onboard the Homeworld ship.

"And then the next thing I know Jet and Ivory fuse into Onyx!"

"Oh, my God!" Ronnie exclaimed. "That explains _everything!_ "

"I know!" Stephanie smiled. "And then I freed Quartz and Carnelian, but we were about to get cornered by those scary soldiers. But then Cobalt turned against Homeworld and helped us escape!"

While Ronnie was processing everything, Stephanie remembered something she had thought about before he returned to the city. If Homeworld was coming back, they might come after the Rebels, and Ronnie or her mom might get caught in the crossfire. If either of them were to get hurt, she'd never forgive herself.

"Ronnie… I don't think you should hang out around me anymore…"

"What? _Why not?!_ " Ronnie face fell immediately. Stephanie explained her conflicting feelings to her best friend, tears burning her eyes as she told him the hardest thing she would ever have to say. But Ronnie just wiped her tears away and looked into her eyes. "I understand why you're worried, Stephanie, but cutting yourself off from your friends isn't the way to solve the problem."

Stephanie rubbed her eyes, still skeptic about Ronnie's words.

"Have you ever watched a show on the BW station?" Ronnie finally asked her.

"You mean like _Unnatural_ and _The Werewolf Diaries_?"

"Well, _yeah_ ," Ronnie chuckled. "But I'm talking about a show called _The Flag_. It's about this superhero who fought during World War Two and gets sent to our time. Anyway, he runs into his only surviving friend, Hyperman, who turns out to be an alien from another planet. And since Hyperman doesn't physically age, he decided he wouldn't let anyone get close to him because he was afraid he'd lose them. But after seeing the Flag after so many years and talking to him, he realized he made a mistake."

Stephanie smiled as she began to understand Ronnie's point. In fact, the more she thought about it, the more she realized how much Ronnie truly meant to her. "You're right, Ronnie. In fact, there's something I've been meaning to ask you… but only because you haven't gotten around to asking me…"

"Okay…" Ronnie smiled nervously as he discreetly reached into his pocket.

"Will… will you, uh… will you be my…" Stephanie stuttered as she spoke.

"-be my girlfriend?" Ronnie held up a ring pop.

"-be my beach summer fun buddy…" Stephanie said as she looked at the candy jewelry. "Uh… _jinx?_ " Ronnie blushed nervously as he realized that they weren't exactly on the same track. "How long have you had with you?"

"Ever since I got here…"

"And you really feel that way about me?" Stephanie cheeks turned a deeper shade of red than her gemstone.

"I do."

"That's _my line_." Stephanie smiled and gave her friend a peck on the lips.

"Wait, so, you mean you'll-"

"Yes, I'll be your girlfriend!" Stephanie took the ring pop out of the wrapper and eagerly put it on her finger.

"YES!" Ronnie pumped his fists into the air. Then he pulled his girlfriend into a tight hug. "Let's go on a date! Right now!"

In that instant, the warp pad activated and the three Rebel Gems and their two newest additions spotted the two humans. The shortest of the group took particular notice to the way Ronnie held Stephanie in his arms.

"Woohoo! Yeah! Get sum o' that sweet girl, Ronnie!"

" _CARNELIAN!_ " Quartz scolded before he turned to the humans. "Now, what's going on here?"

"Ronnie just asked me to be his girlfriend!" Stephanie squealed with glee. "We're gonna go down to the boardwalk and go on our first date!"

"What's a date?" Cobalt tilted his head to the side as he moved closer to his friend.

"Well, it's when two people who like each other go out and do things that they consider to be fun." Ronnie explained without letting go of Stephanie's hand. Suddenly, a realization popped into his head as he pointed at the taller blue Gem. "I don't know this one."

"This is Cobalt… the Gem I told you about earlier."

"Oh! Nice to meet you." Ronnie extended his hand to shake Cobalt's. "I'm Ronnie. Ronnie Markson."

"Nice to meet you, Ronnie-Ronnie Markson." Cobalt returned the gesture. "This 'date' thing sounds like a lot of fun… may I join you?"

"Well, uh, Cobalt, we were actually thinking about doing this by _ourselves_." Stephanie explained.

"Oh… I see… alright, well… have fun…" Cobalt's shoulders drooped as he walked down the hallway towards his room. Stephanie and Ronnie looked at each other as a guilty sensation ate away their spirits.

"Wait!" Cobalt stopped in his tracks as Stephanie spoke up. "Since Ronnie is now my _boyfriend_ , and I'm his _girlfriend_ , that means we need someone to be our… uh… beach summer fun buddy! And you're elected!"

"Well, I don't know…" Cobalt rubbed his chin. "Uh… _okay!_ " Stephanie could understand why Cobalt wanted to come with them. Due to his harsh upbringing in the Homeworld society, the blue Gem never truly had a chance to exercise his independence.

* * *

 **Two Hours Later**

Stephanie's date with Ronnie went very well. They took a stroll on the beach towards the fairgrounds. The three friends rode every ride, then Ronnie won Stephanie a giant panda bear, and Cobalt visited the caricature artist.

"This was one of the best days of my life!" Ronnie sighed as he put his arm around Stephanie.

"This looks _nothing_ like me!" Cobalt complained. "Such a large head would be very impractical for combat!"

"Cobalt, that's what it's supposed to look like." Stephanie tried to reassure her friend, but cobalt just crumpled up the picture and threw it away. "We could go into the house of mirrors next."

"No, no, no," Cobalt crossed his arms defensively, "I don't know _what it is_ about mirrors, but they give me the creeps…"

"Oh! I know! Let's drop by my mom's store and see how she's doing!"

"Alright, that sounds like fun." Ronnie agreed.

"Cobalt, are you coming with us?" Stephanie turned around to see her friend paralyzed with shock. The two humans edged closer to him until they saw whatever he was staring at ram into him. Acting on instinct, Stephanie activated her bubble shield around Ronnie and herself. Cobalt had been tackled by a female Gem.

This Gem had dark purple skin with magenta hair tied in a bun. Her clothing appeared to be comprised of an indigo vest covering a violet tank-top, an indigo miniskirt over violet leggings, complete with purple boots. Reaching up to the sparkling gemstone in her left shoulder, she summoned a quarterstaff similar to Quartz's and pointed it at Cobalt's face.

"I am _not_ going back!" the purple Gem cried out.

"What are you talking about?!" Cobalt said before the Gem smacked him in the face with the blunt of her staff.

"You may have caught the princess, but you won't take me back to Homeworld to _die!_ "

"Wait!" Stephanie dropped her bubble and ran up to the female Gem. "He's not gonna hurt you! He's with us! He helped free you and the princess!"

"… is that true?" The purple Gem lowered her staff and her tone.

"Yes…" Cobalt answered as he finally understood her assault. "Princess Opal Doublet. That was her name, right? She's back at our current headquarters."

"So, you're with the Rebellion?" a smile began to creep onto the Gem's face.

"Uh…" Cobalt tried to process the Gem's question, but all he could do was study every detail of her face. Her form and figure was flawless, as the light reflected off of her gemstone, illuminating her face. "Obviously…" Cobalt finally answered as he got up. "Ahem, uh, _yes_ , yes we are. We _are_ with the Rebellion. We are _with_ the Rebellion."

"I've never _met_ a Rebel Gem before." The Gem smiled coyly. "So, do I get to join Crimson Topaz?"

"No, he's gone." Cobalt explained. "This is his daughter. He gave up his life to save her, but not before relinquishing command over to Onyx."

" _Onyx?_ " the purple Gem gasped. "Onyx the _permafusion?_ I thought he was a myth!"

"We still don't know your name…" Ronnie interjected.

"I'm Amazonite, but Princess Doublet called me Amy for short."

"I'm Cobalt…"

Suddenly, the reformed CBLT's ears perked as he heard a familiar sound coming from around the block. Much to his shock, he saw a platoon of CBLTs round the corner and draw their firearms. "We have to go!" Cobalt yelped as he grabbed Amazonite's hand.

"What are you _doing?!_ Let me _go!_ "

The CBLTs activated their rifles and fired upon the fleeing Rebels. Fortunately, Stephanie was able to summon a shield large enough to protect the four of them from the soldiers' blasts. As they all took cover behind a parked car, Cobalt peaked around to try and count how many enemies they were facing. Much to his shock, one of the CBLTs held a greenish-pink gemstone in his palm, preparing to toss it at them. Cobalt pushed Stephanie and Ronnie aside and pulled Amazonite towards him.

"Stop taking my _hand!_ "

The CBLT threw the gemstone, causing the car to explode. As she helped Ronnie back up onto his feet, the two friends saw a menacing figure emerge from the flames. The creature stood on all fours, with razor-sharp claws on each toe. Pink spikes protruded from its back and long serrated teeth stuck out from its green jaw as it unleashed a primal roar from its throat.

"Tourmaline!" Cobalt shouted, trying to warn his friends. But before he could help, a blue laser blast soared past his face.

"Traitor!" one of the CBLTs dropped his rifle and summoned an electric staff from the gemstone in his back. The CBLT began to whip the staff through the air in an attempt to challenge Cobalt. But the blue Rebel just sighed apathetically as he summoned his own rifle and shot the CBLT in the chest.

Meanwhile, Stephanie and Ronnie ran for their lives as the tourmaline chased them through the streets of Beach City. Acting quickly, Ronnie pulled Stephanie into an alley that was too narrow for the tourmaline to reach them. The only trouble with this was; they were trapped. Or were they?

"Ronnie, I think there's only one way out of this…" Stephanie looked at her friend, who nodded in agreement. Clasping their hands together, the two teenagers began to spin each other around until Stephanie's gemstone bathed them in a blinding, crimson light. Without hesitating, Stephonnie summoned a shield over his fist and landed a ground-shattering blow into the face of the tourmaline.

"HAHAHA! I forgot how _great_ it feels to be me!" the fusion laughed as they continued to knock the monster around until it retreated into its gemstone. Next, they rushed towards the four remaining CBLTs, ready to attack. Stephonnie leapt into the air, landing right in the center of the group and struck the ground. The intense vibrations caused all of the CBLTs to retreat into their gemstones.  
After seeing that there were no other threats around, Stephonnie bubbled the enemies' gemstones and sent them to the Temple. Finally, they picked up the unconscious Cobalt and Amazonite and headed towards the Temple themselves.

"I can't _wait_ for our second date." Stephonnie chuckled.

* * *

 **Next: Answers!**

 **In case you didn't catch that little reference at the beginning, yes, I am rebooting my superhero story! Be on the lookout for The Justice Legion of Avengers!**


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